


Corruption

by Clockworkcreation, simpleEnthusiast



Category: Steam Powered Giraffe
Genre: But you have been warned, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Spooky, You'll have to read and find out, both of the previous are extremely minor references in chapter 6, evil!spine, it's prolly not his fault, kind of, rogue robots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-07
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-08-20 06:37:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16550807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clockworkcreation/pseuds/Clockworkcreation, https://archiveofourown.org/users/simpleEnthusiast/pseuds/simpleEnthusiast
Summary: In which The Spine is an idiot and doesn't use his antivirus.SimpleEnthusiast and ClockworkCreation are back again with a collaboration featuring the characters from the New to the Collection trilogy!  What's The Spine gotten himself into this time, and will the Manor survive it?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please be warned: people do get hurt in this story. If you are squeamish about graphic depictions of violence, I suggest you turn back now.
> 
> If you're still here, well, please accept this late Halloween offering from us!
> 
> Now, onto the show!

“Haha!  Another win for me!” The Spine grinned, flicking his vertebral column happily as he typed ‘Good game, everyone’ into the open chat for the map.  He was enjoying this new multiplayer game. Lovely stylized visuals combined with smooth gameplay made for a happy automaton.

Several of the other humans playing the game expressed their disappointment at losing yet again, although one in particular seemed to be a bit more vulgar and angry than the others. 

_ [@Th3_Sp1ne1896 is cheating  he has to be no one shoots that good on a new game] _

_ [I’m not cheating.  I’m just good at spatial relations.] _

The angry player swore several times at The Spine, prompting him to roll his eyes as they queued up for another round.

_ [if youre so much better than us than prove it.  we do a team match, you vs everyone else.] _

The Spine quirked up an eyebrow.  _  [This game doesn’t allow for one-person teams.] _

_ [it does on custom servers.] _

_ [I have no interest in this.  You’re irrationally angry over a video game.] _

The other player was silent for a few minutes, and The Spine was beginning to think he had won the argument when the invite to a custom server, presumably Angry Player’s server, popped up.  

The Spine was about to dismiss it when a final message appeared in the chat box.  _ [whatsa matter? you chicken?] _

The Spine’s cheek twitched.  “I’m not a chicken.” He mumbled, accepting the invite.  There was a brief loading screen, and he arched an eyebrow when the game started downloading a new file.  “Anti-bot-check.”

_ [You really think I’m trying to cheat?] _ He typed out.  _  [What would I possibly get out of cheating on a video game? There’s no point.] _

_ [hey man I'm just making sure  unless you got something to hide…] _

The Spine sighed, allowing the file to continue its download.  _  [I’m not cheating.] _

Angry Gamer was silent for another minute before a message finally popped up.  _ [yeah?  Then how come my bot checker says youre running bots] _

The Spine blinked as his color perception turned completely red and some rather vulgar terms began to march across his vision.   _ [What did you do!?] _

_ [hahahahahahahhahaahahah   hope your computer doesn’t turn into an expensive brick!  Serves you right for cheating you lil -----] _

The Spine winced, then his eyes widened.  _  [But I AM a robot!  I’m The Spine from Steam Powered Giraffe!  I literally AM a robot!] _

_ [uh huh sure whatever, bye cheater!] _  With that final message, The Spine was kicked from the game, the program completely crashing.  He flicked his vertebral column a few times as he rooted around in his own program files, trying to find the errant download that was causing all of this.  

But even his core program files were being altered.  He could feel it. “No, no, no, no, NO!” He muttered to himself, unaware that he was connected to the Wi-Fi until Rabbit’s voice sounded in his head. 

{The Spine?  You okay?}

{GET OFF THE WIFI, RABBIT}

{Spine, please...It’s 3 in the morning.} Carley’s sleepy voice sounded as well.  {I know you don’t need to sleep, but I do.}

{Something’s wrong, I-- Argh!}  The Spine shook his head as he quickly reconnected to his chassis and cut himself off from the Wi-Fi.  “Qwerty! Initiate Viral Lockdown Protocols… author-r-r-r-r-r-r-iz-z-z-zation: Th-th-th-the Spi-KZZZZHHHHHHHH!”  Static overloaded The Spine’s vocal processor as a burst of steam vented from his cheeks, neck, and back and he slumped over, his hat falling from his head as his fins extended.

He was still for several moments, then reactivated with another hiss of steam.  “Player One, ready. Map: Walter Manor.” 

"Th S-S-Spine? What's wrong?" Rabbit poked her head into the Hall of Wires, concern present on her faceplate.  “You sounded l-l-l-like you were in t-t-trouble.”

The Spine didn't answer Rabbit, she thought she could hear him over the Wi-FI, but the words were staticky and hard to understand. "Just t-t-talk to me."   
  
The Spine optics dimmed, to the point they didn't even seem operational, as he lunged at his sister, grabbing her wrist and biting into it. His porcelain teeth quickly stripped the exposed wire, oil from his mouth coating her joint.    
  
Rabbit squealed and kicked him on instinct. The Spine was pushed away, a bit of rubber wire casing still in his mouth as Rabbit cradled her arm to her body. "What's the matter w-w-with you?!"    
  
He said nothing, chewing on the rubber and swallowing it. The static over the Wi-Fi was stronger now. It was The Spine's voice, telling her to ‘Run, run and don't stop.’

She didn’t need to be told twice. With a flurry of ruffles from her skirt, Rabbit took off down the hallway, away from the Hall of Wires, as fast as she could. She could hear the heavy steps of her brother charging after her.

Rabbit sent a text to every phone in the house as she ran. The Spine had gone crazy. She received a few texts back, mostly from Steve and Bryan wondering if she was joking… and if she was it was too early for such games. An armoire was chucked at her head, Rabbit barely dodged it,the wood splintering against the wall. She could not outrun The Spine for long.

{Not a joke, Passcode 1896!} Rabbit practically screamed over the text system. {The Spine out of control! All Humans Hide!}

Steve began sprinting down the hallway from the music room, running quickly into Michael. “What’s a ‘passcode 1896?’” Steve asked.

“Rabbit’s not playing around. I’m headed to Peter’s office. See if you can get into BeeBop’s system manually. He’s not answering my texts to shut down the Spine.” 

Steve nodded. “On it. What about the others?”

“If you run into anyone, send them towards Peter’s office. If not, let’s just hope they took Rabbit’s message seriously and are hiding.”

Steve nodded and they split up, each running down an opposite hallway. Michael decided to take a shortcut through the Room of Last Resorts; it always brought you to where you needed to go in the manor. 

The Spine stood over Rabbit, she was steaming badly, close to overheating but she was not moving at the moment. “Hm… Player Two: Rabbit, eliminated.” The Spine mumbled to himself before his dark optics glanced up. Someone was close by, moving fast. The silver automaton grabbed a knife from the butcher block. “Ah, a weapon upgrade.”  He turned and ran towards the footsteps, passing by several rooms before finding the one he was looking for. A lab of some kind, with beakers, burners, and papers all around. “Player Three: Michael Reed.”

Michael turned quickly at The Spine’s voice. The dark green optics that greeted him were unnatural, almost unseeing. The Spine didn’t move like himself, he steamed and hissed, just endlessly staring.

“Spine?  What’s going on?” He asked, stepping to the side to try and get a clear shot to the door if he needed to escape.   
  
The Spine’s lips tipped up in an unusually sinister smile.  “Player One vs Unknown Number of Enemies. Battle Royale mode engaged.”   
  
“Wait, what? Spine, this isn’t Fortnite or whatever game it is you're playing now  Snap out of it.”    
  
“Run, Player Three.  It’s not a challenge unless you run.”

Michael blinked a few times, then started towards his friend. "Spine, you need to stop. I'm shutting you down." Michael reached for the switch at the back of The Spine's head.   
  
The move was so fast, the punch to the guts so strong so sharp; Michael couldn't breathe. Where had The Spine gotten the knife from? Silver and red shone in the light as he pulled it out. Michael could only whimper the Spine clutching his shoulder making the seriously injured human stand. "Time to sleep, Micheal...I win this round." The Spine let go of his friend and Michael fell to the floor, bleeding heavily as he clutched his abdomen tightly.

The Spine ignored his painful gasps, turning once more towards the doorway that would lead out into the hall.   
  
"Where are you? I will find you all." The Spine called in a sing song voice as he left the room and a dying Michael Reed on the floor.

Michael used what little strength he had to try and get his phone, but it had fallen just out of reach. He could try crawling to it but the pain was making him confused. He could shout for help, but that might bring The Spine back to finish him… or worse lead The Spine to anyone who came to help him. He was bleeding too much to even try and move. Michael forehead laid on the tile floor as he gritted his teeth. 

As his world began to fade to black, his last thought was that he hoped someone would find him soon. 

* * *

Bunny hid under her bed. This had to be a bad dream. It just had to. She could hear The Spine calling for her. Normally she would go to him but Rabbit's text had reached her first, waking her. Bunny was to hide and be silent, not coming out for anyone but Rabbit. "Come out and play, Player Four!" The Spine's voice echoed just outside her room as his heavy footsteps stalked in.   
  
Bunny covered her mouth, as he moved around her room. "Where are you Player Four: Bunny Bennett?"

She didn’t move, frozen to the spot. The Spine didn’t sound right, static punctuating almost every word. She could hear his steam, his processor working overtime.    
  
Bunny remained still and silent until the sound of his steps seemed to fade away. She let out a sigh, brushing the hair from her eyes but it was a moment too  soon. "There you are!" The Spine half growled, his face was just inches from her own as he reached for her under the bed, painfully wrenching her arm. Bunny screamed in pain.   
  
"GG to the rescue!" The little giraffe shouted as she lept on The Spine’s exposed back, digging her hoofs in around the sensitive area of his back fins. 

Seeing her attacker was distracted, Bunny hurried out of her bedroom, cradling her arm with the other hand. She ran into Carley in the hall. “The Spine! He’s…”

Carley interrupted her. “I know. Get to Peter’s office.” She ordered. Bunny nodded and obeyed.

The Spine growled angrily, reaching behind him to try and dislodge the little giraffe from his fins and back.  GG cheered as she clung to him. “Yee Haw! Ride ‘im, GG! I’m the best Spine rider ever!” The Spine bucked and grabbed at her but GG clung true and tight.  Only she did not realize that he'd suddenly started backing up until he slammed his back against the wall, nearly crushing her.   
  
"OW! The Spine, that hurt!"  She tried to stand up, but her legs wouldn't support her weight anymore.  "What'd you do that for, The Spine?"   
  
"Good, you’re hurt." The Spine growled, reaching to grab her neck.  "You shouldn't have done that, Little GG." He chuckled, an unnatural sneer on his face.   Static echoed from his voice box as he bent down.   
  
"Leave her alone!" A voice called, a blue light appearing in the doorway.  "Why don't you pick on someone your own size." Carley's voice was firm and she stood tall, trying to ignore the rising feeling of dread in her stomach.

The Spine chuckled again.  "Ah, Player Five: Carley Blank.  Perhaps, when you say ‘'someone my own size…’ you meant like you?"  He asked before lunging for her.

Carley had only a moment to react, ducking to avoid the silver automaton and scooping GG into her arms before turning to dart through the doorway.

"Where do you think you're going?" The Spine's voice was half static this time as he grabbed at Carley's shoulder, sinking his fingers into the ridge of the maintenance panel on her back.

Carley shrieked and whirled around, using her weight to spin and knock her cybernetic forearm into The Spine's head, disorienting him just long enough for her to wrench herself free, leaving the panel and a few thin wires in The Spine's grip as she sprinted out the door.

“Carley, make a left!” GG commanded as Carley carried her.

“GG, left is a dead end.” Carley said, glancing over her shoulder. The Spine was not far behind them. 

“It’s not, trust me.” 

Carley did trust GG, but as they entered the disused billiards room she began to worry. “The Spine will be here any second. We’ve got to go; try and make it to Peter’s office.”

GG struggled out of Carley’s arms. Her left legs still felt like jello, but she could at least move on her own now as she hurried to a large bookcase. She grabbed a book on the bottom row with her teeth and gave a tug. There was a click and the bookcase opened a foot from the wall. “Come on Carley. Hurry!”

Carley followed GG into this passage, unmarked on any map she had of the manor in her mind. The book case closed behind her with a click, effectively hiding them.

GG started down the little stone stairs. “Don’t be scared Carley. I used to play on these stairs all the time. It's safe here ‘cause no one knows about it.”

Carley turned up her running lights for the darkness and followed her little friend. “GG, just how many secret passages are there in the manor?”

GG gave a half shrug. “I don’t know for sure. I know of eleven passageways. They lead all over the manor to all sorts of places. No one else knows about them. Its my little secret, well our secret now.” 

GG nuggled a spot on a dead end wall with her nose. A panel pushed in and another wall opened. They were in Library 2 from the look of it almost halfway across the manor. 

“GG get to Peter’s office and stay there.”

“But what about you?”

“I’ll be fine. Hurry, get going.” 

GG nodded and trotted away as quickly as she could. Carley adjusted her aural implant. Someone was groaning in pain, someplace nearby. She was sure of it. 

* * *

David moved as quietly through the manor as he could. So far he hadn’t found anyone and Rabbit’s texts had stop coming to his phone. The last message had told him to hide but he couldn’t just hide… could he? He needed to make sure Bunny and the other’s were alright.

Steam was hissing loudly from one of the rooms nearby and with much caution David approached. “Geez, Rabbit!” He exclaimed softly going to the downed automaton. “Hang on, I’ll reset you.” He reached for the little toggle switch just under her wig line and gave it a flick.  

Rabbit’s optics blinked on. “David? Where’s The Spine?”

David shook his head. “No idea. Rabbit, what is going on? I can’t find anyone.”

“The Spine… h-h-h-he’s broken… m-m-malfunctioning.” Rabbit struggled to her feet. “We n-n-need to get you s-s-someplace safe.” Rabbit’s optic glowed for a moment. “Carley says to get t-t-to Peter’s office. I’ll escort you.”

Rabbit had just reached the door frame when she was thrown against the wall, her body shaking, steam erupting from her chassis. The Spine turned his dead optics back to David who was cowering behind the sofa. "Please Spine. Please stop." he begged through tears. This was not his friend, this was not his protector. 

“Player Six: David Bennett. Prepare to lose.”   


The Spine  advanced, slowly stalking towards the human. As he advanced he reached out his hands, making his intention to strangle David very clear.

David trembled, his legs unmoving, his mind freezing up with old fear that still nipped at his soul.

A vase hit the side of The Spine’s head and he turned. Rabbit was on her feet again, shaking, steaming heavily, but still standing.

"Run David!" she commanded as she forced herself forward to attack The Spine once more.

She would protect the humans, her family, until she stopped functioning, though it was killing her to fight her brother. Literally and figuratively.

* * *

“Bryan, you in here?” Zero whispered into the bedroom of his technician.

“Zero? Is that you?” Bryan’s yawn stirring in his bed. It was clear that he had not awaken with the texts from Rabbit. “Is something wrong?”

“The Spine’s gone loco. I need to get you someplace safe.”

“What?” Bryan rubbed at his face but swiftly got out of bed. “What happened?”

Zero shook his head. “I don’t know but everyone is heading towards Peter’s office and Rabbit texted me that The Spine attacking anyone he sees. I’ve got to get you someplace safe.”

Bryan rubbed at his eyes. “Lead the way.” After all, he trusted Zero with his life.

* * *

Footsteps echoed along the floor, Michael was barely aware of them but was aware enough to know they were too light to be any of the automatons steps. “Help.” He whispered as loud as he dared. “Please…”

Carley stopped, running a thermal imaging scan at the noise.  “Michael? Is that-- Goddess above...” She darted over to him, dropping to her knees beside him.  “What happened?” She asked, running as comprehensive of a scan as she could on the lead technician.  He was lying in a pool of his own blood, far too much of it. His pulse was faint and his breathing shallow and rapid.  “Michael, can you hear me?”

He only mumbled something incoherent, his eyelids fluttering.  

Carley chewed on her lip as she gently rolled him over.  Her tissue regenerator had been damaged when The Spine had attacked her, all she had available to her right now was her precision laser and her bone knitter.   She readjusted herself quickly, setting Michael’s head to rest on her calf as she tore the hole in his shirt until she could see the whole of the damage. 

“Michael, I’m sorry, but this is going to hurt.”  She spoke, activating her precision laser and cauterizing the ends of the exposed blood vessels.

He cried out, kicking his legs and arching his back, gripping at her arm. His nails scratched against her in defense.

Carley bit her lower lip, using her organic arm to hold him down as best as she could, but they both kept slipping around in the blood on the floor.  She needed help.


	2. Chapter 2

“What was that?” Bryan hissed at the strange noise he heard. Every shadow he thought was The Spine about to strike. “What’s Rabbit or Carley saying?”

Zero frowned. “I can’t reach Rabbit, Carley is there, but she’s not replying… and Th’Spine’s just static.”

Bryan’s eyes went wide. “You mean he’s still in the messaging system? Can’t he find us with that?”

“I don’t think so, but what he’s typing, its almost all gibberish.” Zero shook his head. “I need to get you someplace safe. I think…” There was a clang of metal and Zero stopped mid-sentence. Without a word, he took Bryan by the arm and ushered him silently into the closest room. “Wait here. I’ll check it out.” Zero whispered to his human.

Bryan nodded and sat down in a nearby chair. The room was quiet, eerily so, even for early morning in the manor. Bryan yawned and rubbed at his eyes, still half asleep. He never sensed the danger behind him until hands of metal loomed over him, like a shadow of death, from behind his chair.

The Spine  shoved the technician to the floor, then grinned as he throttled Bryan, his silver hands slowly crushing his windpipe despite human fingers clawing at the unmoving, unfeeling metal.  “Player Seven: Bryan B-B-Barbarin, Pre...PaRe to be El..imin..Ated.”  Bryan squirmed and tried to kick but The Spine straddled him, slowly adding more pressure.

Bryan couldn't breathe, spot dancing behind his eyelids; he couldn't call for help.   
  
“Bryan!” Zero shouted as he rushed back into the room, steam snorting from his nose like a raging bull, locking his arm around The Spine’s neck and pulling him from the human. Bryan coughed and wheezed struggling to get breath. 

“Run Bryan! Get to Peter’s office!” Zero shouted as he grappled with The Spine, taking a punch to his face plates. Bryan did as he was told as Zero grabbed his brother once more. 

“Th’ Spine, you gotta stop!”

The Spine wrenched himself from his youngest sibling’s grip and reached for the loose cabling on his head.  “Pl..Ay..Er Eight: Zero.” He tightened his fist on his brother’s cranial cables and yanked, tearing them from his chassis and making the younger robot screech in static.  “Eliminated.”

Zero fell to the floor, steaming heavily from his neck and face. The Spine dropped the cables he had ripped from Zero’s skull. Zero was still online but unmoving as he needed a moment to get control and reorient his systems.

A pain filled scream sounded from up the corridor and The Spine turned.  “PlaYer ThrEe Has respAwnEd. New prIORity tarGEt: PlayEr ThrEE.” Without so much as a glance to his younger brother or his technician, he turned on his heel and started back towards Michael’s voice.

Zero waited until he could no longer hear his brother’s footsteps before gathering his broken cables and stumbling out of the room.

“Zero! Geez…” Bryan was at his side as soon as he saw him.  “Here, gimme those.” He took the cables from his robot’s hands and gently guided him towards Peter’s office.  “C’mon, we’ll go together, then I’ll get you fixed up.”

* * *

Steve rounded the corner with the Walter Workers just behind him.  “Mike, buddy? You okay- JESUS CHRIST!”

Camille retched behind her sister as they took in the sight of Michael’s bloody body.  

“Steve!” Carley called.  “I need you to hold him down.  I can’t help him like this.”

Steve nodded, dropping to his knees and grabbing Michael’s shoulders and forcing them to the ground.  “Hang on, buddy, we’re gonna get you patched up.”

“Camille.  I need you to get the first aid kit beside the chemistry set.  Quickly.” Carley ordered, sitting on Michael’s legs to hold him down.  “Chelsea, stay on lookout. Be prepared to move at a second’s notice, all of you. If The Spine comes back, we’re all in danger.”

“Should I cover his mouth?” Steve asked.

“No. It won’t do any good, he’ll only end up biting you.” Carley shook her head, steadying her hand and restarting her laser, sealing the ends of the blood vessels as Michael screamed.

Camille was sweating when she set the first aid kit down beside them.  

Carley nodded.  “Very good, Camille.  Now, I need you to open that up and get the the bottle labeled ‘iodine’.  Quickly, now.”

“I… I’m not-- I don’t know--.”

“You can do this, Camille.” Carley kept her voice steady, despite never taking her eyes off of Michael's wound.  “It’s a large brown bottle with a dropper top. It’ll be very clearly labeled.”

“Right. Okay...”  The Walter Worker’s hands were shaking as she ripped the kit open and found the bottle.  “Should I open it?”

“No, just hand it to me.”

“Guys!” Chelsea called.  “I think I saw Spine… I think I saw his fins.”

“We gotta move him, Carley.” Steve grunted.  “We can’t stay here, we’ll just all end up getting hurt.”

Carley nodded.  “I know. Chelsea, how far away is he?”

“He’s running towards us!”  She abandoned her place at the doorway.  “We don’t have any time.”

“Steve, can you block the door with some furniture? Buy us some time?” Carley asked, standing and grabbing Michael underneath his arms.  “Camille, get that first aid kit.”

“Yeah.  Chelsea, gimme a hand.”  Steve darted over to a nearby table and together they pushed it in front of the doorway, then flipped it on its side, just as The Spine appeared in the doorway.

Static emanated from his voice box as he spoke, but he made eye contact with Carley and sneered.  “Player Five. You are a healer…” He cocked his head then glanced at Michael’s limp form in her arms.  “You are reviving him.”

“Of course I’m reviving him.” Carley hissed.  “He’s been stabbed!”

The Spine released another burst of steam.  “Player Th..Ree will... ResPaWn... post-game Lo..Bby.”

“Respawn?  Spine, what are you talking about?”

The Spine’s response was too staticky to make out at first, but as he raised his arm and activated his Tesla coils, his intent became clear.  “Kchhzzz….yer Five desig-Kckksshhhhh... Priority Target.”

“Carley! DUCK!” Steve shouted, heaving an end table at The Spine before dropping the ground. “Move! Get out of here!’

The bolt of electricity flew only inches over Carley’s head as she dragged Michael behind another table.  Both of the Walter Workers ducked behind some chairs, tossing a few empty beakers at The Spine to distract him while Carley hastily taped some gauze pads to Michael’s stomach.  “Steve! I need covering fire!” She called, ducking as another bolt of electricity hit the wall beside her as she jammed a long needle from the heel of her cybernetic palm into Michael’s thigh.

Then The Spine stopped, turning and darting away.  

* * *

David could hear the frightened shouts of his friends, the breaking of glass, and the splintering of wood. “HEY! Spine, over here!” He shouted, without thinking, from the other end of the hallway. It was like a movie, just like the Terminator, the way that The Spine stopped breaking the table apart and turned slowly to face him. 

“P..La..Yer..S-s-s-six.” The static in the Spine’s voice was becoming more pronounced as he looked at David. “EL..imi..naTe…”

“You’ll have to catch me first.” David teased, swallowing the fear in his voice. The Spine was acting like this was some kind of game, so he’d play. He’d play for as long as he could. He spared only a moment to make sure The Spine was, in fact, targeting him.

The Spine smirked. It wasn’t fun if they didn’t run. David was running, so he was having fun.

* * *

“David! What the heck is he doing?” Steve growled, watching The Spine rush after his human technician.

“Saving our butts from the look of it.” Chelsea replied.

Carley wiped some sweat from her forehead.  “Steve, we need to get out of here.” She croaked, her voice unusually shaky.  “We are not safe here. The Spine could lose interest in David at any moment.”

“Right.  What do you need.”

She shook her head.  “A stretcher. Several of my medical tools were damaged when I rescued GG.  I can’t help him any further as we are. I need to get to the infirmary.”

“How bad is it?” Camille asked, wringing her hands as Chelsea joined them.

“He needs immediate surgery.  He’s lost a lot of blood. I manage to stop the bleeding and jump-started the cells in his bone marrow to start producing more red blood cells, but there’s still a lot of damage that needs to be repaired.”  Carley ran another scan of Michael, confirming that the enzyme she’d injected was indeed working.

Steve glanced around.  “We don’t have the supplies to make a stretcher here.  I can run to the infirmary though, get you what you need.”

“No, I need you to stay with me.  The Spine might recognize you as posing a greater threat than me if we’re together.” Carley looked to the Walter Workers.  “Can you two make it?”

Chelsea nodded.  “We’ll do what we can.”

“Don’t take any detours.  Go straight to the infirmary.  There will be a stretcher and a silver briefcase on the wall just inside the doorway.” She glanced to the door where The Spine had been just moments before.  “Bring those here. Stay together and be as quick as you can.”

Chelsea and Camille both nodded, then quickly darted out the other door.

Steve bit his lip.  “Does he need blood?  I can donate…”

Carley shook her head.  “His bone marrow cells are working at 200% efficiency.  If anything I need straight plasma or at least a saline drip for him.  All the red blood cells in the world won’t help him without a medium to travel in.  Besides, I can’t afford to have you incapacitated as well. You can’t fight if you’re giving a transfusion.”

Steve stood and shattered a long bottle, brandishing it as a weapon and taking a position near the door.  “The girls’ll be quick. Don’t worry.” He said, although he couldn’t quite tell whether he was trying to reassure Carley or himself.

* * *

David clutched at his side, his chest heaving as he ran from the Manor and jumped the five wooden stairs that lead down the veranda to the grass. He went for a jog everyday, but this near-constant sprinting he was not used to. 

The hedge maze was just a hundred yards away. If he could just make it inside, he would have a chance. 

He was only halfway across the lawn when metal feet thundered on the wood. He didn’t stop, he didn’t look back, but David knew The Spine was right behind him as he reached the entrance to the maze. “Please protect me!” he shouted to the green leaves around him.

He always believed Sam when the former technician talked about how this maze was ‘alive’ and moved of its own free will. A fact not missed by David as he came to a split in the pathway, one he did not remember seeing before. Turning right, he followed the path. It was nearly dawn but the light in the sky did not touch the maze so far. It was still full of dark shadows and twisting turns. The air was silent inside the maze, unnaturally so, but not uncomfortable. It felt almost peaceful. The smell of the dirt, kicked up as David ran, was sweet and earthy. 

The Spine was screaming through static, but he sounded father away. David took a moment to catch his breath when a hand surprised him on his shoulder. He turned ready to strike, almost punching Bunny in the face. “Geez, Bunny!” he whispered harshly. “What are you doing out here?”

“Carly told me to head to Peter’s office, but I came here looking for Rabbit, she hides in here sometimes and I haven’t been able to find my way out since. I’ve always been able to find the way out, but not this time.” Bunny shook her head, sitting on a stone bench against the maze wall. She looked tired and stressed. David vaguely wondered how he looked.

David joined her sitting on the stonework. He had forgotten that the maze had all sorts of benches and statues in it. “The Spine, he attacked Rabbit, I think she might..” David shook his head. “She’s hurt. Then he started attacking the others. I lead him away and well...here we are.”

More loud static and an arch of electricity flashed overhead. Bunny scooted closer to David. “Should we keep going? Try and make it to the duck pond?”

David listened as hard as he could. “If the sound gets any closer yeah we’ll make another run for it. For now let’s stay quiet and wait. I think we’re safe for the moment.”

Bunny rested her head on David’s shoulder. The early morning air was chilly and she shivered. David put his arm around her shoulders. 

“It will be okay…” he reassured her as well as himself.

* * *

Zero was the first to the office door. Seeing it barred shut, he pounded upon it. “Peter! Its me Zero! I’ve got Bryan with me. Please let us in.”

Bryan stood close to his friend, still rubbing his neck. The flesh starting to bruise from where the Spine had been choking the life from him. 

The door opened slowly, it was heavy and Peter was alone in pulling it. “Zero, Bryan. Thank goodness.” The automaton and his technician all but tumbled into the room, Zero helping Peter close the door once more and locking it.  

“Bryan, are you alright?” Peter asked. Bryan was being oddly quiet and kept rubbing his neck.

“We… we had a run in with The Spine. He… tried to kill me.” Bryan coughed and moved his hand and Peter could see the damage done. This wasn’t like the Spine. 

Peter frowned. “Carley and the others should have been here by now. Zero, is anyone on the texting system or wifi?”

“No Sir, all I keep getting is static, but I tried letting the others know we are okay. Not sure the message made it through.”

Peter rubbed at his mask. “Bryan, if you feel up to it. I need help going through QWERTY’s backlogs. I need to see exactly what The Spine was doing before all this started.” 

Bryan nodded and moved over to the bank of computers in Peter’s office. “Can’t BeeBop shut everyone down?”

“No, the virus seems to be encrypted. BeeBop isn’t recognizing that anything is wrong.” Peter began to type quickly. “Zero stay on the messenger, if you hear anything other then static, let me know right away.”

Zero nodded as Peter VI and Bryan got to work.

* * *

“Bryan and Zero are safe in Peter’s office.”  Carley sighed. “Apparently Peter’s already searching through Qwerty’s logs to figure out what’s gone wrong with Spine.”

Steve nodded.  “It’s got real quiet.  I don’t like it. Spine can be sneaky when he wants to be.”

Carley glanced around.  “I have no abnormalities on my thermal scanners.  He was giving off way too much steam to not appear on them.”

“Glad that’s still working.  You sure your arm’s okay?”

“I’m fine, Steve.  He didn’t damage any critical systems.”  She perked up for a moment, then stood. “Oh good, Chelsea and Camille are back.” She breathed, just as the two women came around the corner.  “Set the stretcher down here. Steve, help me lift him on to it?” She took Michael’s upper body and waited for Steve to grab his legs before lifting the engineer’s limp form onto the stretcher.  “Camille, the case?”

“Here.” She held it out with trembling hands.

Carley took it, sparing no time in opening it and pulling out an IV line and a saline bag.  “Chelsea, hold this bag. Don’t let the tubing coil.” Her voice held the practiced tone of command, easing the Walter Workers’ anxiety.  It was clear to them a thousand times over that Carley knew what she was doing, quickly locating a vein in Michael’s arm and starting the drip.  She closed the silver case and handed it back to Camille. “Alright. Steve, take the stretcher at his feet. No, face outward, so you can see where you’re going.  Chelsea, stay here on my left. Keep the bag high. Camille, stay up with Steve, keep an eye out for The Spine. Head for the infirmary. Ready?”

She and Steve lifted the stretcher with ease and the group started for the infirmary in silence.  They couldn’t afford to make any noise, not with The Spine potentially hiding just around the corner.

They had nearly made it to the infirmary when Steve stopped them.  “He’s just ahead. He’s… guarding the infirmary, looks like.” He whispered.

Camille shivered.  “How did he know?”

“He’s still partly connected to the local network.” Carley breathed, her eyes flicking back and forth as she accessed the network.  “He must’ve read the messages I sent to Zero and Peter.”

Steve swore under his breath.

“What do we do, Carley?” Chelsea asked, biting her lip as Michael began to stir.

Carley was silent for a beat.  “Steve, head for Peter’s office.  It’s our only option at this point.”

“What about Mike’s surgery?”

“It will not be the first time I have performed surgery in less-than-ideal conditions.  Now go.”

Static echoed down the corridor as the group began to move, followed by the heavy footsteps of the rogue automaton.  “PLAY..ER FIVE! I KNoW YOu ArE THeRE!” 

“Haste would be prudent, Steve.” Carley urged as they all sped up.  They couldn’t run, not with Michael incapacitated as he was, but they were moving as fast as they could manage.  The door to Peter’s office was at the far end of the side corridor, a heavy steel emergency door that kept the Blue Matter energy from the rest of the Manor.

“P-P-PLAYER FiVe!”

Carley glanced over her shoulder.  The Spine was walking towards them, steam billowing from his back.  “Chelsea, give me the IV. You and Camille run. Steve, jog. I can keep up.”

“Carley?”

“Do it!” She hissed, just as The Spine called out with another burst of static.

Steve nodded and they sped up, with Carley doing what she could to steady the stretcher.

“PLAYER F-F-F-FIVE!”  The Spine’s voice was closer now, he was gaining on them.  Carley knew she couldn’t risk looking backward, but Camille’s expression when she did told her all she needed to know.

[Peter, get ready to open the door.  We have no time!] She messaged him, feeling Zero’s apprehension on the network.  

[We’re ready.] He replied.

[The Spine is on our tail. Gaining.  We may have to fight.]

[Understood.]

“YoU Can’T wIn, PLayEr FiVe!” The Spine called. 

“Steve, when the door opens, just keep moving.  Don’t slow down.” Carley ordered. 

“Got it!” Steve called. 

Chelsea grabbed Camille’s elbow and they stopped, letting Steve and Carley pass them.  “Follow my lead!” Chelsea called, grabbing a knick knack off a display case and throwing it at The Spine’s form, grinning as it clattered off his chest.

The Spine turned his dimmed gaze to her and snarled, arming himself with a knick knack of his own and pitching it at the Walter Worker.

Chelsea yelped and ducked, only for Camille to toss a book at the rogue automaton, the silver case she was carrying abandoned at her feet.   They alternated, dodging and throwing, back and forth, practically dancing around The Spine’s own thrown pseudo-weaponry. 

The heavy steel door swung open at Carley’s call, and they raced inside, Peter clearing his desk for them to set Michael on while Chelsea and Camille both raced at a full sprint towards the safety of the office.

Camille bent to grab the silver medical case, but just as she reached it, a book slammed into her back, knocking her down.

“Camille!”  Chelsea skidded to a stop, ready to turn and grab her sister, but it was too late.  Bryan grabbed her around the middle to keep her from running back.

The Spine came to a halt just over Camille’s form, grabbing her wrist and yanking her upright, lifting her all the way off of the floor.  “Hel..Lo Def...Ender.” He hissed out, steam stinging her cheeks. “A vali..Ant effort… but I wIn this roUnd!” He laughed, squeezing her wrist. 

“OW!  LET ME GO! SPINE! PLEASE! YOU’RE HURTING ME!”  She shrieked, dropping the medical case and pawing at his arm, her legs kicking uselessly at the air. 

The Spine’s optics flickered bright green for the briefest of moments and he suddenly dropped her, staggering away for a moment, tripping over the metal case from the infirmary and landing on it with a sickening  _ crunch _ .  

Camille scrambled to her feet, cradling her wrist to her chest as she sprinted to the safety of the office, collapsing into a chair in tears as Zero and Steve slammed the door shut behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

Chelsea was at her sister’s side in an instant, enveloping her in a hug as the everyone tried to steady their breathing.

“Carley…” Steve glanced up to the cyborg as she silently tried to use scotch tape to secure Michael’s IV bag to the wall.  “How important was that case from the infirmary?”

Carley schooled her features to a neutral expression.  “I cannot perform Michael’s surgery here without it. Our only option now would be to get him to the infirmary.”

“Oh my God.” Camille’s voice shook.  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

“It’s not your fault, Camille.” Bryan soothed, placing a hand on her shoulder.  “It’s not your fault.”

“But I dropped it!”

“Camille, Bryan is correct.” Carley offered, kneeling in front of the shaken Walter Worker and gently taking her injured wrist in her hands.  “Were I in your position, I would have dropped it as well. You couldn’t have predicted that Spine was going to crush it. This is not your fault.”

“But–”

“No ‘buts’. This is not your fault.” Carley shook her head.  “Peter? Do you have any rulers or sturdy pieces of wood? Her wrist is broken and I need to splint it.”

“Y-yeah.  Over here, will these be okay?” He handed her two heavy wooden rulers.

Carley nodded.  “Steve? I will need your bandana.”

Steve handed it to her without a second thought, using a stray piece of wire to tie his dreads back in a ponytail.

“What do we do about Mister Reed?” Zero asked, his broken cabling still sparking slightly.

“There’s nothing more that I  _ can _ do here.” Carley sighed.  “I’ve stopped the bleeding, and he’ll be regaining his lost blood soon enough, that’s the most important thing right now.  For now, I’ll keep him sedated. Abdominal wounds are very painful.”

“What about David, Bunny, and Rabbit?” Chelsea asked, still keeping her sister wrapped in a hug.  “They’re still out there.”

“And The Spine is reading the text messages we’ve been sending.” Carley added.

Everyone in the room jumped when a loud bang sounded from the door.  “PLAYER FIVE!” The Spine’s staticky voice called out. “I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!”

Peter opened a desk drawer and pulled out a small gun, running his fingers over it. "I never thought I would have to use this on one of our own." He mumbled, turning the weapon over and over in his grip.

"Boss?" Steve asked from his place by the desk. 

Peter turned to him and held out the core disrupter gun. "While I have something resembling an idea of what’s going on with Spine’s programming, and an even smaller idea of how we can fix it, there is no proof the virus will just stop controlling him. Steve... if I cannot contain and eliminate this virus… you need to take the shot. No one else in this family would be able to. No one but you. I am relying on you, Steve."

Steve frowned but took the gun. "Yes sir." He responded dutifully and tucked the weapon into his pocket.

“There.” Carley offered a gentle smile to Camile once she’d finished wrapping her wrist.  “I don’t have anything to make a sling, so try and keep your wrist touching your shoulder, alright?”

Camille nodded, leaning into her sister’s hug, exhaustion covering her like a heavy blanket.

“Hey, Boss?” Steve asked, leaning against the desk as he looked over Michael’s pale form. “You said you knew what caused Spine to wig out and how to fight it?”

“I said I have an idea.  I was looking through Qwerty’s security logs when your messages started coming through.”

“An idea is better than nothing at all.” Carley offered, having moved to look over Bryan’s neck and shoulders.

Peter sighed. “Looks like he got some sort of virus over the online game he was playing.  According to Qwerty, he tried to activate the viral lockdown on his system, but his core programming was altered before he finished.  If we can corral him in the Hall of Wires, or detach him from his chassis somehow, I can purge the virus and restore a backup of his personality matrix.”

“But that would require us getting close to him without getting a knife to the gut.” Steve huffed.

“He’s steaming up a storm out there.  He’s gotta go offline at some point.” Bryan added.  “They can’t go that long at that high a level of activity, right?”

Peter nodded, then frowned.  “Is it just me… or did it get quiet all of a sudden?”

No one in the room breathed as the realization dawned on them.

The Spine wasn’t pounding on the door anymore.

Which meant David, Bunny, and Rabbit were suddenly in much, much more danger.

* * *

“It's quiet.” David said, breaking the silence of the early dawn.

Bunny shivered against him. “Do you think The Spine gave up?”

David stood, listening hard. Other than the early sounds of birds starting to wake and the odd cricket here and there he heard nothing. 

Bunny was texting away at her phone. “I can’t get anyone to answer me. I keep trying Rabbit but she won’t respond.”

David very gently touched the leaves of the hedge maze. “Let’s stay put a little longer.”

Bunny nodded, agreeing they should stay put when her phone chimed. “It’s from Rabbit! Oh thank goodness.” Bunny’s eyes glanced over the message. “She’s hurt. She needs me to come repair her, right away. She’s in Living Room 3.”

“What about The Spine? Is it all clear?” David asked. 

Bunny typed on her phone. “Yeah, she says it's all clear.”

“Okay, let’s head back in then.” David gently ran his fingers along the leaves of the  hedge maze. “It’s safe, you can let us out now.”

Bunny raised an eyebrow. “Are you... talking to the maze?”

“Yeah, I always agreed with Sam. I think this maze is alive. Besides, you talk to your stuffed animals and figurines.”

Bunny waved him off. “That’s totally different. Besides if the maze was alive and moved around of its own will, I would be able to turn this corner and see… the… exit?”

There it was, right in front of Bunny’s face, the exit of the hedge maze. She could see the garden plots, the lawn, and the manor behind it. She knew, positively knew, that the exit had not been right here before.

David just smirked as he passed Bunny and stepped out into the yard.

Bunny blinked for a moment before running a few steps to catch up with her brother. “Not one word, David Michael Bennett.”

David kept his mouth shut, but continued to smirk until they reached the wood steps. 

* * *

Rabbit lay, sparking and steaming, on the floor of Living Room 3. She wasn’t sure how she had ended up there. Her one blue optic was cracked, making her vision double in that side of her face. She was disconnected from the Wi-Fi and her messaging system seemed damaged. At least she was alone. There were no… dead humans in the room with her. 

The last thing she remembered was grappling with the Spine, David had made a run for it. Since he wasn’t here, Rabbit refused to stop hoping that he, and everyone else in the manor, was alright. 

Rabbit cocked her head to the side. She could hear someone… no two someones approaching. Hesitant, light footfalls indicated a human presence.

“Rabbit! Oh My God!” Bunny cried out, her blurry image coming into view of Rabbit’s cracked optics.  Rabbit lay in a pool of oil, sparking slightly as she moved her neck. A ready to burn fire hazard.

Rabbit tried to give her technician as smile but its came out crooked only lifting half her face plate. “Bunny, I k-k-knew ya’ find me.”

“Run a check, Rabbit; what systems are down?”

“Optics m-m-malfunctioning, Right arm m-m-malfunctioning, Gears three and f-f-four in my neck are stripped, Oil reserve is l-l-low but not critical yet.”

“We need to get you to the lab. Can you walk?” David spoke, entering Rabbit’s line of sight.

“David! I’m so g-g-glad you got away. What h-h-happened to the Spine?”

David shook his head as Rabbit tested her joints. “No idea. I’m just glad you let us know it was safe to come back in.”

Rabbit blinked, confusion on her face plate. “What are y-y-you talking about?”

Bunny turned her phone to Rabbit. “See? Here are the texts you sent.”

Rabbit squinted at the screen, the confusion on her face contorting to fear. “I d-d-didn’t send those!”

“I dId….” 

The trio turned at the deep static filled voice filling the doorway. Steam bellowed from the Spine back as he glared at them with a cold determination in his face the others had never seen before.

David’s heart leapt into his throat.  “Spine, what’s gotten into you? Why are you doing this?”  He stood, drawing himself up to his full height, despite his knees feeling like jelly and put himself between his sister and his best friend.  “You’re scaring everyone…You’re– you’re scaring me...”

Bunny dropped to her knees, quickly resetting Rabbit’s processors to stop the sparking, popping the automaton’s joints back in place.

The Spine hissed out steam and looked David up and down, the gears almost audibly turning in his mind.   His voice was static, but his eyes flickered green for a few moments.

“Spine?” David offered, taking a hesitant step forward.  “Spine, you… you in there?”

Static popped over his vocal processor.  “D-d-d-dav-v-v-v-vid….”

“Spine?”  He took another step forward, reaching a trembling hand out for The Spine’s arm. “Spine, let me help, okay?”

“David…” Bunny warned, slowly standing as Rabbit’s system rebooted. 

David hushed her, never taking his eyes off The Spine.  “Spine, I can help, okay? We’ll get you fixed…”

Another pop and hiss of static and puff of steam came from The Spine and his optics flickered dark for a moment, then bright again.  

David took the last step forward, placing a hand on The Spine’s arm.  “It’s okay, Spine, we’ll get you to the Hall of Wires… we’ll get you fixed up…”

Rabbit suddenly hissed out steam and started to stand, her joints popping and scraping, making the two humans jump.

The Spine looked at her and the flickering in his optics stopped, dimming back down as his features darkened again.   His neck joints scraped as he turned his gaze to David. “PlAYer SiX….” Static overwhelmed his vocal processors again.

“Spine?” David’s voice jumped up an octave and he jerked his arm away from the automaton.

Rabbit stepped forward, and The Spine glanced at her for only a fraction of a second before raising his left arm and backhanding his technician across the face, sending him sprawling to the floor as the automaton launched himself at Rabbit.

“DAVID!” Bunny screamed, quickly helping her brother to his feet, gasping as she saw blood  leaking from his temple. “Oh my God…”

The screeching of grinding metal made both of the humans suddenly cover their ears.  “RUN!” Rabbit shouted. “GET TO CARLEY, RUN!”

“Not without you!” David slurred.  “Spine, let her go!” He shouted, shaking his head to try and clear the cobwebs.

Blood dripped down into his eyes, the movement causing the blood to splatter on his face and the floor. Little drops of gleaming red that shone like rubies against the sandy colored Persian carpeting.

“Oh God, David! Oh God! Oh God!” Bunny cried, bouncing on the balls of her feet and wringing her hands. 

“I can’t… Please… R-R-RUN!” Rabbit managed to stutter out as she and The Spine remained locked in hand to hand combat, but she had already received so much damage. The Spine had several upgrades on his sister, not including the fact he was made of tougher metal than she was. 

The Spine brought his weight down, slamming Rabbit’s head into the floor. “Bunny! We’ve got to go!” David yanked and pulled at his sister.

“Rabbit! Rabbit!” She called through tears, refusing to move.

David chewed his lip, tasting blood and did something he never thought he would have to do.

He slapped Bunny.

The shock caused her to snap out of her sobbing. Rabbit was motionless on the floor. Offline for sure, possibly permanently. The Spine was slowly standing, turning his attention back to the twins.

“We have to run, Bunny.” David pulled on her arm and she followed his lead this time, fear and grief giving wings to her feet.

The Spine smiled, about to give chase when he wobbled and almost fell. A warning blinked inside his head. “Hm… I nEed a PoWer uP… ” he mumbled to himself forgetting the twins for a moment, he turned heading towards the bathroom and the closest water available.

Bunny skidded to a stop once The Spine’s footsteps had faded, leaning against the wall as she sobbed. 

David wobbled on his feet, pressing his palm to his head and feeling three small strips of flesh missing.  “His knuckles must’ve got me.” He wiped the blood from his eyes. “Bunny?”

“What’s happening, David?  What’s wrong with him?! Why would he attack us?!  Why would he hit  _ you  _ of all people!?  Why would he try to kill Rabbit? I don’t get it, David!”

“I don’t know, Bunny.  I don’t know what’s gone wrong!”  He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.  “But we need to stay focused. We need to…” He shook his head again as his vision swam.  “... find the others.”

Bunny sniffed, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she looked over her brother’s head.  “We need to find Carley.” Her voice still shook with emotion. “She, she can get you fixed up.”

“Yeah…” David nodded.  “Yeah, okay… where is she?”

Bunny sniffed. “Peter’s office. That’s our best hope of getting help.” She needed to take the lead now. It was clear the blow to the head was making David a bit dizzy and the blood just didn’t want to stop flowing. 

“Let’s hurry.” David agreed as they moved quickly and quietly down the hallway, but with each step, David seemed to have more and more trouble staying upright.  Eventually Bunny pulled his arm over her shoulders and supported most of his weight as they shuffled down towards the safety of the office. 

They reached the office only to find the emergency security door in place. “Still got your phone, David??” Bunny asked, jostling him slightly with her elbow. 

David mumbled something as he ran his hands over his pockets and frowned. “I… I think… I dropped it?” 

Bunny eased his arm off her shoulders, letting him lean on the wall as she dug in her own pockets and swore.  “Mine’s gone, too.”

“Oh.” David shrugged, pressing his hands to his temples.  “Maybe… we can knock?”

“Let’s hope they hear us–” Bunny’s breath caught in her throat as heavy footfalls sounded at the end of the hallway, followed by a hiss of steam.  “Oh no.”

Bunny knocked on the door quickly. “Open up. Please! Anybody!” She risked shouting. If there was someone in there, they had to hear her.

The heavy footsteps started to stalk closer, not far now, just around the corner from them. Bunny pounded harder.

“Bunny, it's no use...they can’t hear...you...you gotta run…” David mumbled, his eyes dropping as blood still dripped from his wound. Not quickly but enough to stain the floor.

Bunny looked back. They had been leaving a trail of blood drops behind them. Something The Spine could easily follow.

A muffled voice sounded through the heavy door.  “Bunny? Is that you?!”

“STEVE! Hurry! Open the door! David’s hurt, and The Spine’s practically on top of us!”

“Hang on!” Steve called.

Bunny glanced over her shoulder; The Spine’s dimmed optics found her eyes and he grinned.

Then the door slid open a hair.  “Bunny?”

“Steve please! Open the door, hurry!”  She begged, grabbing David’s arm and pulling it over her shoulder.  “Please!”

“Boss?”

“STEVE!?”

“Open that door right now, Steve Negrete.” Carley’s voice was firm, with a hint of anger on the edge of it.  

“Do it.” Peter’s voice was next and the door slid open all the way.

Carley wasted no time darting to David’s side and all but shoving the twins into the room, sparing only a glance to The Spine’s advancing form before the Steve and Zero slammed the door closed again.

“Jesus…” Bryan winced as he saw David’s blood covered face and neck.  “The hell happened?”

“Spine hit him across the face.” Bunny shuddered, sitting in the chair that Camille had vacated for her.  “He– It looked like he was calming down… like David was getting through to him, but then he just… knocked him to the ground and then he started fighting Rabbit and she told us to run and he–”

“Bunny, slow down.” Chelsea soothed, stepping out of the way as Carley grabbed a handful of clean work rags from Peter’s desk and started cleaning the blood from David’s face.

“Chelsea, Rabbit might be dead!  He suplexed her into the ground!” She shouted.

Zero let out a burst of steam and shrunk back against the wall.  “Rabbit’s gone?”

Bunny looked over at the youngest robot and immediately kicked herself.  “I… I don’t know, Zero… it all happened so fast, and then… we ran. We couldn’t do anything else.”

Peter nodded, laying a slightly musty towel around her shoulders in lieu of a blanket.  “You’re safe for the moment, Bunny. Both you and David. We’ll get to Rabbit when we can, and I’ll do everything I can to fix her.”

Bunny nodded, her breath shaky as Chelsea rubbed her shoulder.

“Here, David, hold this towel against your head.  Don’t take it away unless I tell you.” Carley ordered, her voice soft but still carrying authority.

David nodded, but his pupils were dilated and he swayed slightly even as he sat still in the chair.

She stood, rubbing the back of her neck with her organic hand.  “He has a moderate concussion, but he’ll be alright, Bunny. Try not to worry.”

“Even… even with all that blood?”

“Head wounds typically bleed quite a bit.  The wounds are superficial. There’s no damage to his bones.”

David head bobbed slightly. His eyes starting to close. “Ah-ah, David, No sleeping.” Carley said moving to tap him on the shoulder. “You need to stay awake, alright?”

David slurred what sounded like an ‘Okay’ before focusing back on holding the cloth to his head.

“Boss, we can’t just stay in here until Spine goes offline.” Steve sighed.  “We gotta do something. Mike needs surgery, Camille’s wrist is broken, and now David’s got a head wound.”

“And Rabbit is broken.” Zero mumbled, shuffling as Bryan worked on reattaching his cranial cables.

“Yeah. That too.”

Peter sighed.  “I know how to fix him, but I can’t do it unless he’s in the Hall of Wires.  I need Qwerty’s assistance, and yours, Steve. Unless he magically decides to go back to the Hall, we’re stuck.”

The room was silent for a few moments as Carley ran a few scans on Michael.  “‘I’m the healer’… ‘Player Five’… It sounds like he’s in a combat simulation.”’

“Huh?” Steve arched up an eyebrow.  “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Not a combat simulation, a video game.” Bryan perked up.  “He was calling everyone Player Something, right? And Peter, you said he got a virus while playing an online game?”

The room was silent for a beat.

“I don’t get it.” Chelsea deadpanned as she glanced between Bryan and Peter.

“So like...  What if The Spine thinks he’s playing a video game?  That’s why he’s attacking everyone so hard. Most online games nowadays are just some iteration of ‘kill the other players.’ He thinks he’s in a video game, not that he’s actually hurting anyone! See what I’m saying?” Bryan offered. He had played some of these games with The Spine. It made sense to him.  

“‘Player Three will respawn in the post-game lobby.’” Carley repeated.  “He didn’t think anyone would be permanently injured…”

“Wait, wait, wait…” Steve held up his hands.  “So we’ve got three people with major injuries here because Spine thinks he’s playing Overwatch?”

“Is that possible? Could a computer virus really make the Spine think this is just a game?” Bunny asked, rubbing her arm. A hand-shaped bruise was starting to appear on her pale skin from where the Spine had grabbed at her trying to pull her out from under her bed. 

Peter held up his hands.  “We don’t have time to speculate.  We need to figure out what to do.”

Steve pressed his lips into a thin line.  “I can go out, draw him into the Hall and then order Qwerty to shut him down manually.”

“You shouldn’t go by yourself.” Carley shook her head.  “It’s too dangerous. If you get hurt, there won’t be anyone to haul you back to safety.”

“I’m a good shot.” He patted the disruptor in his pocket.

“Lets… let’s try to avoid using that if we have to.” Peter muttered, If what Bunny said was true, Rabbit could very possible be eternally offline; losing The Spine as well, it would be too much. The family would never survive a double loss.  “It’s a last resort, not our first line of defense. I don’t want to have to kill him.” 

“Right…” Steve swallowed.  “Sorry, Boss.”

“Plus, there’s no way to guarantee he’ll go after you.” Chelsea added.  “I mean, why go after one person when all of us are right here?”

“Yeah, he’ll probably pick up on the fact that something’s fishy if it’s just you.” Bryan added.

Carley swallowed a lump in her throat as she finished her scan of Michael. “Send me.”

Every head turned to look at her.  “Carley?” Peter started, his voice betraying his concern.

“He’s fixated on me.  I’m his priority target. If I lead him–”

“No, we’re not using you as bait.” Peter cut her off.  “I can’t… We can’t lose you.”

“If we do this right, you won’t.” She visibly steeled herself as she looked at the scientist.  “He’s fixated on me, and he probably knows that the medical kit he crushed was important in some fashion.  He knows we’ll need medical supplies, and I’m the logical choice to go get them.”

“But… what if he catches you?” Zero asked.

“Out of all of the organic beings in this Manor, I am the best equipped to withstand a blow from him.  I won’t win an a full on fight, but I can withstand him long enough to escape.”

Peter was quiet for a moment.  “It’s too dangerous.”

“Peter, we don’t have time to sit and discuss the various dangers.   _ Michael _ does not have time.  The Spine  _ will  _ chase after me.  I can lead him on a chase while Steve takes a shortcut to the Hall of Wires.  GG can show him the way.”

“Me?” The little giraffe had been unusually silent this whole time, all but cowering under a chair in the corner.

“You know the passages in the Manor better than anyone.” Carley soothed.  “Once I get Spine to the Hall, Steve and Qwerty can shut him down. Then I can get Michael the treatment he needs and start tending to the other wounded.”

Peter sighed through his nose, glad that his mask was hiding his expression from the medic.  “I don’t like it. But you’re right, Michael doesn’t have time for us to argue. But I’m going with you.”

“Peter…”

“No.  I’m going with you.  Spine might think of me as some sort of team captain or what-have-you.  Two priority targets. And if, God forbid, something happens to Steve, I can shut him down, too.”

Carley nodded. “Alright.  Chelsea, I’ll need you to look after Michael and David while we’re gone.  I’ve sedated Michael, but that was some time ago. If he wakes, try to keep him as calm as possible. And don’t let David fall asleep.”

Chelsea nodded.  “Okay.”

Peter cleared his throat.  “Steve, you and GG wait until you can’t hear Spine anymore before you make your move.  We can’t risk him hearing or seeing you.”

The two of them nodded.

“Steve?” 

“Boss?”

“If things go wrong; if Carley or I go down… I’m counting on you to… do what you must.”

Steve nodded.  “Last resort. Not a second before.”

“One problem.” Chelsea said, “How are we going to get out of this room? The Spine could be right outside the door.”

The room went quiet for a moment until Carley looked at the little giraffe. “GG?”

“Aww Carley, it was supposed to be our secret only.”

“What secret?” Peter asked, but GG ignored him.

“I’m sorry GG, but is there a way out of this room?” Carley said, kneeling down towards the frightened little ‘bot.

“...Yeah…” GG trotted over to another bookcase, reared up on her hind legs and pushed in the center of a carved wooden flower decoration along the door. The book case swung open. “This leads to the conservatory on the second floor.”

“Why you sneaky little robot. That’s how you’ve been doing it.” Peter said, his voice more astonishment then anger. 

“GG when this is all done, you need to show me these passageways. All of them.” Steve grumbled. He did not like not knowing there were other ways in the manor to get around. It made him feel vulnerable if any hallways or room were left unchecked before he went to sleep at night. 

GG clicked her little hooves together. “...Okay.” She didn’t like the idea of giving away her secrets but then again, Steve didn’t know just how many secret tunnels there were. She could show him the one she showed Carley and then maybe another one after that and call it quits. He didn’t need to know every passageway...right?

Camille fidgeted with her wrist a bit, now that the adrenaline had worn off, it was really starting to hurt.  “Hey, Carley? I-I know you’re getting ready to go do this, but… do you have something for pain… before you go?”

Carley’s shoulders slumped.  “I don’t, I’m sorry. The Spine got a few power cables when he tore off my maintenance panel cover.  Only a few of my medical systems are still online. It’s why I wasn’t able to tend to Michael properly as soon as I found him, or see to David’s concussion.”

Peter paced.  “Carley, if you’re already hurt… I don’t think you should–”

“Peter, if you tell me that this is too dangerous, I’m not going to kiss you for the next month.”

Peter audibly clacked his jaw shut as Carley turned to face him.

“I appreciate that you’re concerned for my safety, but I served in combat situations before, with injuries both to myself and my patients, against odds that would make this look like child’s play.”

“She  _ was _ super calm when Spine was trying to get to us when we found Michael.” Chelsea offered meekly.

“Peter.” Carley’s voice softened and she rested her organic hand on his shoulder.  “I can do this. I’ll be alright.”

“I know, I know… I’m just… terrified.”

“It’s alright to be scared.  But you will be with me, watching my back the whole time, correct?”

Peter nodded.  “Let’s get this over with.” He sighed, turning to Zero for a moment. “Zero, if the three of us fail. You need to get the humans out of the manor, alright? I know you are slightly damaged but…” Peter’s eyes drifted to Camille, then to David and finally settled sadly on Michael before flicking back to Zero. “You are the only one strong enough to go toe to toe with the Spine...even.... even if you don’t expect to win.”

The words were heavy and stung slightly but Peter was right. Zero straightened up and gave a determined “Yes sir.”  

Following GG, Carley, Peter, and Steve slipped into the hidden passageway, the wooden shelf closing behind them with a heavy thud.

“So…. now we wait?” Zero asked, shifting his weight awkwardly.

Bunny crossed her arms over her chest.“Yup.  Now we wait.”

“And perhaps, we should come up with a plan B?” Chelsea offered.

Bryan nodded, “Yeah, that too.”


	4. Chapter 4

Peter kept his hand along the wall as they walked up and up the winding stairway. It was dark but Carley’s lights kept it from being pitch black. “I had no idea the manor had secret passages.” He mused more to himself than the others around him.

“Nobody knows about them but me.” GG asserted from her place at the front of the little line. “They’re my secrets.”

Steve sighed, “Well, at least we know the ‘bots don’t know anything about them. Or The Spine would have been on top of us, security door or not.”

“Carley, can you hear Spine at all on the Wi-Fi? Any idea where he might be?”

Carley frowned, “There’s a lot of interference, but he seems to be in one of the labs… with Rabbit’s body.”

Dread clutched at Peter’s heart. “Is she… operational?”

Carley shook her head sadly. “I can’t feel her on the Wi-Fi.”

“Boss, can The Spine… can he give Rabbit the same virus?” Steve worried, just as they reached the end of the passage.

Peter shook his head. “No, all the files indicate it has to be a direct download to have any affect. He’s not able to pass it onto her. At least not in this state.”

The false wall creaked open and the smell of dust and stale air entered the little passageway.  The conservatory was once a bright beautiful place, or so the automatons had told him. As far as Peter knew, no one ever came here anymore. Dozen of dead and dried rose bushes lined the room in fake ming vases that had been the society style in the early 1930’s.  The floor was tiled in black and white marble square resembling an oversized chess board. The glass windows were dusty and, while it was now late morning, only grey light was able to filter in. Other than a few benches made of the same white marble that adorned the floor, the conservatory was empty.

Steve took it all in, getting a feel for the place. He couldn’t help thinking it would be a great indoor area to practice his fire breathing and archery. 

Like almost all the rooms in the manor, there was no door, only a heavy, moth eaten tapestry blocked the way.

Steve was the first to slip out, taking in the sights, sounds and smells around him. Peter took a moment to slide his hand into Carley’s organic one and squeeze gently; a small comfort for both of them as they waited for Steve to reappear.  

“All clear,” the sound engineer called after only a few moments. “No sign of Spine anywhere.”

“Then this is where we split up.” Carley sighed, rolling her organic shoulder. “Steve, stick to the shadows if you can.  The Spine’s not anywhere near the Hall right now, but I’d rather not take any chances.”

“Right.  Hey… you… you two be careful, okay?”

Peter smiled behind his mask. “We will.”

“Don’t worry about us, Steve.” Carley soothed.  “We’ll be fine.”

Steve sighed through his nose and nodded.  “See you guys in a few.” He said, jogging off towards the Hall of Wires.

Carley sighed.  “He’s still in Maintenance Lab 2, with Rabbit, but I still can’t tell what he’s saying or thinking.  There’s too much interference.”

“How can you tell he’s with Rabbit?”

“Her emergency beacon is active.  That’s all I’m reading from her.”

Peter swallowed.  “Why would he bring her to a maintenance lab? It doesn’t make any sense?”

Carley shook her head.  “I don’t know. But as you said, we don’t have time to speculate.  We need to shut him down. Or at least contain him.”

Peter nodded, steeling himself.  “Right… let’s go.”

* * *

The Spine stood over Rabbit’s chassis, steam billowing from his joints and fins.  He cocked his head. “Player Two… Rab..BiT… Error… RespaWn not aCt...iVe…” He lifted her frame off the floor of the lab and set her on the table.  “Player Two… R..RabbiT…” His optics flickered green again and he stepped back. “Rab...bit?” 

But still, she didn’t move, her own optics dark and her boiler empty.

Soft footsteps outside the door drew his attention and his optics darkened again as he turned to face the source of the sound.

Carley moved closer to the lab. If she was to work as bait this had to be convincing. The Spine had to believe that she was an easy ‘kill.’ She cleared her throat, motioning for Peter to stay hidden just around the corner.“Oh dear! I’ve lost my way.” It was a lie, Carley could never really be lost in the manor but she needed The Spine to view her as a wounded animal and himself the predator, ready to pounce.

“Player FiVe… prIo..riTy target recOgniZeD.  Player Five, pRe...pare to loSe.” The Spine grinned again, advancing towards her, his optics again dimmed.  

Carley backed up, holding her cybernetic arm in front of her as a barrier.  “Help!” She called, internally wincing at how fake it sounded.

“Carley!”  Peter darted out from his hiding place, drawing The Spine’s gaze away from her.  “This way, hurry!” He grabbed her organic hand and tugged her down the corridor, glancing over his shoulder as The Spine cocked his head to the side.  “Okay,” he whispered, “that is terrifying.”

“Keep moving.” Carley hissed, wincing as she heard The Spine speak behind them as he started to run.

“New Player identified: Peter AleX..ander WalteR VI; Team CoMmaNder.  AddiTionaL PriO..rity TarGet...”

“Jackpot?” Peter huffed, turning the corner with Carley on his heels.

“Make for the Hall, quickly!” 

Carley and Peter ran down the hallways, cutting through Music Room 5, passing the Room of Endless Linens, down one stone staircase, and up another iron one. All the while, The Spine was behind them, laughing or making a sound very close to laughter filled with steam and static. More than once, Peter stumbled, but The Spine didn’t gain any ground. It was clear. He was playing with them. 

Playing a deadly game of cat and mouse.

The door to the Hall of Wires was open. An indication that Steve was, in fact, inside and waiting for them. Peter prayed the little trap would work and that Steve had enough time to prepare.

If everything was ready, QWERTY was set to go with a triple taser shock. As soon as The Spine came far enough into the Hall, Qwerty would trigger the shock and power would arc all around The Spine, hopefully stunning him.  Peter, Carley and Steve would be unaffected. Though that was hoping Steve had found enough thick rubber matting to make a safe spot for them to stand.

“Here we go.” Peter said making it into the room and over to the rubber mats, with Carley right behind him when The Spine grabbed her cybernetic arm just as he stepped into Qwerty’s firing zone. He didn’t even get a chance to gloat as raw, burning, electricity coursed through his body and into Carley’s. 

The Spine screamed, Carley screamed, and Peter screamed, trying to reach her. Steve grabbed his arms and held him back, safe on the rubber.  “Boss, there’s too much juice; you’ll be killed!”

“No, NO! Carley!” Peter half screamed and half cried as the power surge stopped, the lights flickered and the two beings dropped to the ground like lead. Electricity arced over Carley’s cybernetics, sparking out and connecting with some of Qwerty’s wiring and The Spine’s paneling.

Steve let Peter go as soon as the arcing stopped, and the scientist raced to her side, dropping to his knees and ignoring the pain that shot through his bones as he hit the metal flooring.  “Carley! Oh God, please wake up…” He begged, rolling her over and cradling her upper body in his lap. “Carley, please….” Her running lights were off, and she was still, her form limp in his arms.

Steve grabbed The Spine’s head, manually detaching him from his chassis and letting Qwerty pull him up into the nest of wires for diagnostics before standing awkwardly to the side, chewing his lip as Peter begged whatever deity might listen for Carley to move.

“Please… just blink… or move an eyebrow, please Carley, do something… anything, please…” Peter swallowed, tears collecting under his mask.

“Boss…”

“No.”

“Boss.”

“Carley…”

“Boss, I’m sorry.”

“No…”

“Boss.... we gotta get Mike an ambulance.” Steve put his hands on Peter’s shoulders.  “Boss, c’mon. There’s nothing we can–”

“NO!” Peter hunched over her.  “She… she can’t be… Not like this…”  He laid her down and straddled her, placing his hands on her chest and starting chest compressions.

“Boss…” Steve shook his head.  “That much power...straight to her head…. CPR won’t–”

“EITHER HELP ME OR GET OUT!”

“Boss, she’s gone!  I’m sorry, but she’s gone!” Steve shouted, grabbing Peter’s shoulders.  “We can’t help her! But we  _ can _ help Mike and David and Camille!”

Peter shook him off, ripping off his mask and pinching her nose before forcing air into her lungs.  

Steve raised his arm to shield his eyes from Peter’s void.  “Boss! PETER!” He reached for Peter’s shirt collar, ready to, quite literally, drag his CEO out of the room, when Peter slowed, hanging his head as tears dripped onto Carley’s shirt.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience in waiting for this chapter. We've made it extra long for you - SE

As Peter’s shoulders shook from trying to hold in his sobs, Steve helped him up, sparing a final glance back to Carley, just as the soft blue running lights on her facial implants flickered back to life.

“What the...?” Steve stopped, his eyes widening. 

Peter sniffed and followed Steve’s gaze and he darted back to her side. “Carley?”

The cyborg was still for another beat, then she gasped, sucking in air as her organic eye snapped open. She coughed, harsh and grating, as the lights on her shoulder and arm came back on as well. She spat pained curses in her native language as she pressed her hand to her temple, then met Peter’s gaze and smiled weakly.  “Hey…”

“Carley, thank God.” He cried, burying his unmasked face in her neck.  “I thought… we thought you were….”

“I’m alright…” Carley breathed, her voice still shaky.  “My failsafes kicked in. Just like the first time I met The Spine.”

Steve sighed, leaning against the wall before bracing his hands on his knees. 

Peter barked out a harsh laugh and smothered her in a kiss. Then another, and another, pausing barely long enough to breathe in between them as he cradled her to him.

Steve was panting against the wall, he really didn’t want to break up the two love birds but, “Boss? I’m sorry but… it hurts.” he tried looking towards Peter, but had to shield his face with his hand. 

Peter swallowed, then glanced over at his engineer.  “What? Oh…” He pressed a final kiss to Carley’s cheek before grabbing his mask and tugging it back on.  “Sorry, Steve… and for shouting at you.”

Carley groaned as she picked herself up off the floor and glanced at The Spine’s chassis.  “Is he…”

“Shut down.” Steve answered.  “Qwerty’s got his head up in the wires.  He’s harmless now.”

“My connection to the network is a bit unstable…” Carley sighed, steadying herself by leaning on Peter.  “You… you should text the others, tell them all to meet me at the infirmary. There’s no more time to waste.”

Peter VI balked at the suggestion.  “You can’t be serious…” He turned to face her.  “You were just electrocuted! You’re in no condition–” 

"There's no time." She waved him off.  "I need to get Michael into surgery."

"But what about-" Peter started.

"I can continue on." Carley cut him off. “My critical systems, including motor control were protected by the failsafes.  Everything else is offline, but I can still tend to the injured using what we have available.”

“Are you sure?  We… you don’t have to…” Peter sighed.  “I don’t want you to overexert yourself.”

“The tools that are damaged aren't necessary for me to help Michael.  I'll be fine, but the work I did on him won't help for much longer. You and Steve get to work on Spine; I will take care of the wounded.”

Peter was about to argue when a shouting of static filled the air and the nest of wire that currently imprisoned the Spine shook. 

“No time to argue. I’ll have Zero help me move Michael. You two focus on fixing The Spine.” Carley ordered, already steady on her feet and moving out of the room.

“You heard the lady, Steve.” Peter shouted, already at a control panel. Steve joined him on another one.

“QWERTY! Force lock The Spine. Authorization: Peter Walter 161913!” 

The Spine screeched from his prison and the wires twitched again. Peter cleared his throat. “Beebop: Make a copy of The Spine’s current core programming files and memory files for the past 6 hours in a secured VM-image.”

“Transfer complete.”

“What’re you doing?” Steve asked.

“I want to find out who did this to him.” Peter practically growled.  

Steve nodded.  “I’ll do the memory wipe, Boss.  Beebop: upload program wipe to The Spine’s main system.”

“Alert! Alert! Doing so will remove OS system and personality matrix. Please confirm.”

Steve casted a quick glance at Peter. “Boss?”

“Do it, Steve.” 

“BeeBop confirmation code La Jolla 1.”

“Code accepted, rewrite program launched.”

Almost instantly The Spine stopped thrashing around in the wires. He went quiet, his mouth gaping, his mind still. It only took a few minutes before BeeBop’s voice filled the hall. “Program upload complete, successful upload.”

Peter was already typing away. “Now, let’s see if we can get The Spine back to us.” 

Steve watched over Peter’s shoulder as he dug up the previous day’s backup files. “Qwerty, Beebop, prepare for a full system reset of The Spine.  Restoring from selected backup.”

“Acknowledged.”

Peter hesitated for only a moment before hitting the final key to start the restoration process. 

“Restoring backup files.” Qwerty chimed as both of the AI systems set to work with their ‘unconscious’ friend.

Steve leaned against the wall again, pinching the bridge of his nose.  “Hell of a morning.” He muttered as they watched the progress bar inch towards completion on the screen.

“That’s one way to put it.” Peter answered, glancing at the door.  “Beebop? Do you have any spare processing power?”

“Affirmative, Peter VI.”

“Put the contents of that secured VM image onto a disk.  I need to be able to view it on an isolated computer in my office.”

“....Done.”  A silver disc spat itself out from a slot on the desk and Peter pocketed it.  

“Restoration complete.” Qwerty chimed again.

“Wake him up, Qwerty.” Steve sighed, pushing off the wall and hovering near the door, his hand ready lock them all in if the restoration hadn’t worked.

The Spine’s cheeks hissed a tiny bit of steam as the wires lowered him to eye level with the humans.   His vocal processor popped a few times and his optics blinked open, still dim.

“Boss…”

“Wait.”  Peter held up his hand.  “The Spine?”

The Spine stared ahead, unblinking for another second, then his optics flickered on, shining their normal bright green brilliance and he smiled.  “Oh. Good morning, Peter. Good morning, Steve.”

“Oh thank God.” Steve sighed, thumping his head against the wall as he again rested his weight against it.

The Spine quirked up an eyebrow.  “You both look rather tired, did you not sleep well?”

“Spine, what time is it?”

“My internal chronometer says that it’s 9:27am… Huh… I seem to be missing 5 hours of my memories.”

“We’ll restore those later.  Where are you?” Peter asked.

“In the Hall of Wires?  Peter, is everything alright?”

“Are you playing a game right now?”

“A… game? What do you mean?”

“Answer me, Spine.  Are you playing any sort of game right now?”

“No.  I… I just woke up from my maintenance cycle?  Peter… Steve, what’s going on? And why is Rabbit’s emergency beacon on?”

“Spine,” Steve stepped forward.  “Are you, outside of defense of Walter Manor and its residents, allowed to injure any sentient being?”

“What?  No, of course not!” He flicked his vertebral column twice.  “I downloaded a vow of peace decades ago! So did Rabbit, The Jon, Hatchworth...all of us did!”

Peter sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Why is Rabbit’s emergency beacon on?  Is she alright? My… my access to the network is limited, I can’t send any messages.”  

“Steve, I know you’re probably tired, but can you stay here and do a run through of Spine’s systems manually?” Peter asked.  “I want to make sure there’s no trace of any malicious code hiding somewhere that we missed.”

“Malicious code?” The Spine squeaked.

“Sure thing, Boss.  Where are you headed?”

“I need to see about Rabbit. And Carley, once she’s finished with Michael.” Peter barely waited for Steve’s quiet ‘Yes Boss” before turning on his heels and practically jogging from the Hall.

The Spine coiled his vertebral column around himself.  “Did… did something happen? Did.... Did I do something wrong?  Is Michael Reed alright? Is Rabbit?”

Steve rubbed his face, leaning over the control panel. He was quiet for so long that The Spine didn’t think he would answer. Just as he was about to call his name, Steve whispered. “No use in not telling you: Michael got stabbed, right in the guts. Camille’s wrist is broken and… David has a concussion. Carley’s a little damaged, too, and Bunny’s got a bad bruise. Zero has some wire ripped out, but he’s okay. Everyone else is fine.”

“But… why is Rabbit’s emergency beacon on?  She’s not okay if its on…”

“No… she’s not.” Steve sighed again, bracing his weight on the little desk.  “Spine… you got a virus… and you went rogue. Rabbit fought you, two or three times, and lost each time.”

The Spine’s eyes widened.  “Is she…”

“We don’t know.  That’s where Peter is headed now.  Now, please just… hold still while I do that manual check Peter wanted.”

The Spine was silent as he struggled to process Steve’s words.  “Did… I hurt the others, too?”

“Spine…”  Steve’s exhausted tone told The Spine everything he needed to know.

“I did, didn’t I…”  The Spine went silent, already knowing the answer. 

Steve got to work, wanting just as much to avoid the conversation as anyone else in the Manor would. 

* * *

Carley had been in the infirmary with Michael for two hours.  Peter had stopped by long enough to grumble about her being “too damn selfless for her own good” then had gone with Bunny to start repairing Rabbit.

Bryan had disappeared long enough to grab a toolkit and start properly repairing Zero’s cranial cables, while Chelsea stayed with Camille and David.   They sat in uneasy silence, waiting for any indication that Michael was going to be okay.

Steve joined them, looking very tired.  “Spine’s okay.” He sighed. “Peter’s plan worked.  I did a manual check of all his system files. He’s clean.”

“Th’Spine’s okay now?” Zero asked.  “Can I go talk to him?”

Steve shrugged.  “You can try. As soon as I was finished, he made one of his wire bubbles things he does when he’s upset.”

“Does he remember what happened?” Chelsea asked.

“Nah.  Peter wanted to do something with the memory files.”  Steve pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes. “But he gleaned enough info from what me and Peter were saying to get the idea that he hurt some of us.  And… well, by that point I didn’t see any reason to lie to him.”

David struggled to his feet, face still caked with dried blood. “I should go talk to him.”

Chelsea shook her head. “No, you’re in no shape to do that, David.”

David stood up, wobbled for a moment before getting his footing. “Chelsea. I’m the only one who can reach him right now.” David kept quiet on the fact that Rabbit could reach The Spine, but he was the next best choice. Rabbit might never wake up again. “No offense, Zero… it’s just what we’ve been through.”

Zero was quiet for a moment, touching his fingers together in thought. David had a point, it was clear to everyone in the manor that David and The Spine had a deep, unbreakable bond. Zero was still ‘sleeping’ when it happened; when David and The Spine had been kidnapped. “I’m coming with you. You might fall, or faint.” Zero asserted.

Bryan shook his head. “Better wash your face first and here, take this....” Bryan undid his flannel shirt, now standing in just his undershirt, before handing it to David. “If the Spine sees all that blood, he’s gonna panic.”

“Thanks Bryan.”

Zero was quiet beside David as they walked. Stopping at the closest bathroom, David washed his face, frowning slightly at the shallow cuts and the bruising around them. For a moment he wished he had longer hair like Bunny. The Spine would be tormented over seeing this wound. At least he could wear something clean. David slowly removed his blood stained tee shirt and put on Bryan’s flannel. He was practically swimming in the garment, but it would do. 

David and Zero continued to walk to the Hall of Wires, each strangely quiet with their own private thoughts. “I’m okay from here, Zero.” David said, stopping a few paces from the closed door.

“Are you sure?” Zero looked right and left. Steve had said The Spine was all better, but…”I can wait out here, if you want?”

David started to shake his head but thought better of it. “He’s all better. Spine will look after me, but if something goes wrong. I’ll have QWERTY contact you, okay?”

Zero nodded. “Okay.”

David waited until Zero was halfway down the hall before knocking on the door. There was no answer so David pushed the door open.

“Human detected.” Qwerty’s voice spoke. “H3llo David.” He greeted cheerily. The gloom of the manor never seemed to settle on Qwerty. Though he wasn’t a true A.I, like the other ‘bots in the manor.

“Is Spine here?”

“Spiney-Whiney no wants to be bothered.”

David sighed and looked towards the mass of wires and red lights at the ceiling. There, in the far corner, was The Spine’s wire bubble nest. “Qwerty, Sleepy time. Authorization code: David-Alpha-1”

“Sleepy time activated. Nighty- night.” Qwerty’s screen went dark, the smiley face fading away.

“Spine?” David called. “Spine, you there?”

High in the air, The Spine could hear David calling for him. Oil stained his cheeks as he curled his tail tighter around his head. He couldn’t bring himself to tell David to leave, choosing instead to greet his technician with silence. Perhaps David would leave thinking he was not there.

“Spine, please come out? I… Oof!” David cried out softly as he tripped and fell over one of the thick cables that covered the floor.  “Stupid cables.” David mumbled.

The Spine was already opening his bubble nest. “David, are you hurt?” He called out, hearing the sound of David fighting to get his leg loose from the wires.

David bit his lip. “I’m a bit stuck.” It was a half lie, but he needed The Spine to come down so he could talk to him. David tugged at the cables again making a soft -- yet slightly fake -- distressed noise.

Quickly, The Spine slithered down the wires and back to his body. He reattached, and moved toward David. “Don’t struggle, you’ll get more tangled. Please let me.”

David held still, forcing his body not to flinch in fear as he allowed The Spine to carefully remove the cables, which at this point were not really tangling David in any way. The Spine finally looked at David as he removed the last thin wire. “David, I…” The Spine reached out slightly to touch David’s wounds, caressing them with the greatest of care. “My hand did this....” They locked eyes and The Spine sighed. “You have a concussion as well. David I… I don’t… I tried… I mean...” The tears of oil began to flow. The Spine began to stand, to pull himself away from the human he had harmed, the one who meant so much to him.

Soft hands of flesh reached up for him. A hug. David was hugging him. “Please, David… I don’t deserve comfort… please… forgive me.” 

“Spine…” David gazed up at his tall silver friend, giving him a smile. “I…” David blinked hard suddenly as he lurched forward off balance. “I think I need Carley…” David gasped, his eyes feeling so hot and heavy.

Instantly David was lifted up, cradled to the warm, protective chasis of his automaton friend. “I’ve got you.” The Spine whispered to his friend. “I’ve got you.” Leaving the Hall of Wires, he  sent a message out to Carley.

{Carley...David needs help.}

{...}

{Carley?}

{I’m a bit busy, Spine. Just keep David awake.}

{...Carley?}

But this time there was no answer. Her connection ticked off a moment later with an abnormal sense of finality.

The Spine shifted awkwardly as he started down the corridor.  David seemed to be doing better after the dizzy spell, but he didn’t want to take any chances, refusing to put the human down.  He’d done enough damage for one day.

“The Spine?”  Zero appeared in the darkened hallway.  “Carley says David’s sick? I’m supposed to walk him back to the infirmary.”

“I’m fine… I just got dizzy for a minute.” David muttered.  “I shouldn’t have said anything about calling Carley…she’s busy.”

The Spine hissed out some steam from his back, unable to  _ not _ notice the small flinch in David’s form.  “I… want to make sure he gets there.”

“We can go together, if you want, Th’Spine.” Zero offered. 

“I should go back to the Hall… at least until Peter says it’s alright for me to be out.”

“Steve Negrete’s waiting there, too.  He can help if something bad happens again.” Zero offered. He did not want his older brother to lock himself back in the Hall. Not if Rabbit was dead or dying. 

Another burst of steam billowed from The Spine’s back and he looked away from his younger brother.

David reached up. “It’s okay, Spine.  Steve said you were clean. No more virus.  Come sit with us.”

“I…”

“It’ll make me feel better.” David gave him a smile. “I’ll even let you carry me there.” It was clearly a joke, trying to make The Spine feel better. Usually, The Spine would smirk and put him down, but this time he just gripped David a little harder.

“Zero, could you please lead the way? I am still off the Wi-Fi.”

“Sure thing, Th’ Spine.” Zero smiled brightly at his older brother as they traveled the short distance to the waiting area outside the infirmary. 

Camille flinched the moment The Spine walked into the room, bringing her broken wrist a little closer to her chest. Fear… The Spine could see it in her eyes. She was afraid of him…

Somehow, that hurt the most.

Chelsea was sitting down beside her sister, resting her head in her hands and occasionally rubbing her neck.

Steve seemed to have simply dragged two chairs together and had promptly fallen asleep, snoring lightly. 

The others were nowhere to be seen.

“You can put me down here, Spine.” David pointed to a small couch on the side of the waiting room. After all this time, David was no longer embarrassed when The Spine carried him.

The Spine did as David asked and then stood silently beside the sofa, leaning on the arm of it. He was glad that David had asked to be placed down slightly away from the others.  The room became as quiet as a hospital, only punctuated by Steve’s snores. 

Just as The Spine felt like screaming, begging for forgiveness, or running from the room, David reached up. “It’s okay.” he whispered gently. “Here let me fix your hat.” David made a motion to reach up. The Spine bent down so David could reach his head. 

“Thank you David.”

The room was silent for another 10 minutes before the door to the infirmary opened and Carley finally walked out, wrapping a lab coat around herself.  “Oh, hello Spine. You’re back on your feet.” She nodded to him, then fixed David with a look that could only be described as a disappointed mother. “You shouldn’t have wandered off.”

David wilted under her gaze. “Sorry…” He said softly.

“How’s Michael?” Chelsea asked, sitting upright in her chair.

“He’s going to be fine. He’s still under sedation right now, but once he wakes up, he’ll be on light duty for a while, or at least until I can get my medical systems back online.  So I’m afraid you and Steve will have to pick up some extra duties for the time being, Chelsea… if Steve ever wakes up.” She rubbed her organic hand over her face and sighed. “Alright, David.  Come on, let’s get you looked at next.”

“I promise, I’m fine; I just got dizzy.”

“David, you have a concussion.  And you have a cranial implant that I need to ensure is still working.  Now, come on.”

David swallowed, feeling very much like a scolded child as he stood, shuffling past Carley and into the infirmary.

“Carley?” The Spine’s voice was unusually soft, and he hid his optics under the brim of his hat.

“Yes?”

“Sh-should I… Is there anything I can do… to help?”

“Just stay put for now.  You can walk David back to his room once I’m done with him.”

The Spine nodded as the door closed, sparing only a small glance up to the Walter Workers, unable to hold their gaze even for a moment.

Carley sighed heavily she motioned for David to sit on the free exam table.  A curtain was cordoning off a smaller section of the infirmary, but he could see Michael’s silhouette through it.  “He’s okay, right?”

“He’s going to be fine.  Like, I said, there’s only so much I can do until I can repair my medical systems, but he will be fine.”

“I’m sorry I ran off.  I wanted… I needed to check on Spine.  He was… he  _ is _ going to be beating himself up over this.”

Carley nodded, turning his head to the side to have a proper look at the cuts on the side of his head.  “You have a head wound, you needed to stay put.”

“I know, I know.  I’m sorry.”

She sighed again, running pressing her fingers gently at the nape of his neck.  “Well your cranial implant is still where it should be and seems to be functioning normally.”

“So I’m okay?”

“All things considered, yes.  But you still need to take it easy for a few days.  Concussions can sometime have after-effects that linger.”

David nodded, standing up.  “So… can I take a nap now?”

“Yes, go ahead.  Send Camille in on your way out, please?”

David nodded and rubbed the back of his neck, awkwardly searching for the implant Carley had felt, but giving up after only a moment as he opened the door.  “Camille? Carley’s ready for you.” 

Camille walked past him, her face scowling with pain. David made his way over to The Spine. “Carley said I have to have an escort back to my room.” He hesitated for a moment. He knew The Spine was in pain. David did not want to force him to accompany him. 

“Let me take you, David.” The Spine ushered gently.

David smiled, allowing The Spine to walk next to him out of the room. Once they were away Bryan spoke up.

“I don’t get it. The Spine slapped David silly but… he’s not scared. I mean I know what Steve said but… even Camille was flinching and I’m uneasy too.”

Chelsea shrugged, she didn’t have an answer and she was loathe to admit she also felt afraid.

Zero pouted, hurt. “Th’Spine couldn’t help getting sick.” He did not like seeing his family members distrusting each other.

* * *

“Thank you.” David said once they reached his bedroom. The human sat upon his bed and bent over to remove his shoes when another dizzy wave washed over him, the room suddenly spinning. “Ooh…” David groaned, flopping back onto his bed, shoes still firmly on his feet.

“Allow me…” The Spine spoke quietly as he gently removed David’s sneakers.

David smiled. “You haven't had to help me undress in a long time.” 

The corner of The Spine’s mouth quirked up ever so slightly. To him several months was not a long time, but to a human it certainly was.

“Would you mind sitting with me? I’m so tired. Carley’s said it was okay to sleep… but I don’t feel like being alone.”  

The Spine reached to pet David’s hair, but hesitated and dropped his arm after a moment.. “Is that all she said. Are your implants okay?”

David nodded. “Mmm-hm, I’m fine. Just shallow cuts. Carley said she’d fix them when her arm is fixed. And you can touch me, it’s okay.” David mused.

The Spine hesitated once more, but another nod from David found him gently massaging the human’s scalp.

David sighed softly. “How are you so good at this?”  

The Spine smiled. “Years of practice.”

David fought back a yawn. “Do you have a relaxation spot? I’ve worked on your head lots of times but you’ve never…” David’s eyes began to flutter. The Spine looked around. David was almost asleep, no one would hear his secret.

“I do…” He whispered to David, whom he was sure was asleep. “Right behind my ears.”

David grinned like the cat who got the canary and opened his eyes. “Really?”

Steam seeped from The Spine’s cheeks. He didn’t think David was still awake. He must be losing his touch. “Yes.”

“Can I rub behind your ears?”

“Er… I don’t know David… it’s a little embarrassing.”

“I won’t tell anyone else.  Promise.”

“Well… Rabbit already knows, so… I suppose it can’t hurt.  Just… watch your fingers.”

David smiled and sat up as The Spine settled on the edge of the bed.   He gently pressed the pads of his fingers just behind the automaton’s right ear, hesitantly tracing over the protruding audio cable.

The Spine smiled weakly, leaning into the touch and releasing a small burst of steam from his cheeks.

“This okay? Not too hard?”

“You’re fine.” The Spine nodded, all but nuzzling into David’s hand as the human continued to run his fingers gently over the wire.

Then a curious sound emanated from The Spine’s chassis.

“Spine? Are you…. Purring?”

“What?” His optics snapped open and he hissed another burst of steam. “Uh….”

“You were, weren’t you?”

“No…” He looked away, steam leaking from his neck. “...yes.”

“Really?”

“Well, kind of.  The sensation when you rub that wire is very comforting.  It feels… warm… like I’m safe. And… occasionally… the gears in my vertebral column start to shake because I’m relaxed… when I’m connected to my chassis, it reverberates and, well…”

“It sounds like you’re purring!”

“...Yes.”

David began to rub gently again. He wanted to hear that sound again. He did not have to wait long. For several minutes they stayed like that. David couldn’t stop the bright smile on his face as The Spine kept ‘purring’ and leaning into his touch. Making it clear, non-verbally, that he did not want David to stop.

When David finally pulled his fingers away, The Spine clamped down on his rubber tongue to keep from whining for more. “Sorry, my arm got tired.” David said, as he leaned back into his bed. “But Spine, I will be happy to rub your ears. Anytime you like.” 

The Spine smiled, his green optics shimmering. “How long would you like to sleep for? It's nearly lunchtime.”

David yawned, “Can you wake me in an hour?”

The Spine pulled the blankets up over his friend. “See you in an hour then. Sweet dreams.” Without thinking, he dragged his fingers over the long healed Draconis injection site. David sighed, relaxing at the comforting touch and snuggled deeper into his pillows. 

The Spine stood and quietly as he could left so David could sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your patience in waiting for this next chapter. Enjoy an extra long one filled with lots of recovery fluff! - SE

“Bunny, hand me that welder, small output.”

“Yes sir.” Bunny responded placing the delicate soldering iron into peter’s waiting hand. While Bunny had been working on the more external issues. Mainly fixing Rabbit’s arm and neck, Peter had been hard at work deep inside the automation.

“Well, the good news is her core is intact, I’ve turned her emergency beacon off and I’ve been able to stabilize the oil flow.”

“And the bad news?” Bunny prompted. She knew there was to be bad news. 

Peter let out a slow low breath. “Her optical cables are nearly severed. They should really be replaced before we turn her back on. I don’t want to risk her going blind on us and panicking… not that she would…” Peter shrugged, knowing full well that it was not Rabbit who panicked when she could not see.  “Also both of her hands; I knew Spine was…  _ is _ strong. But they must have been locked in hand to hand. Her fingers are crushed. It's going to take me days to hammer them out, even with your help, Bunny.”

Bunny nodded sadly. “Rabbit’s not going to enjoy not being able to hold anything.” 

“Yes, but it won’t hurt her either. Hand me that box of thin wires we use for the optics. Let’s at least make sure she can see us.”

“Yes Sir.”

Bunny struggled to grab the box of wire from the shelf when a hand darted over her. “Bryan, hey. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, Carley is with Camille now. David went to take a nap, Steve is still sleeping, and Chelsea said she was gonna start on lunch.  I told her she didn’t have to cook, and just to order something, but she insisted.”

Bryan supplied the optical cabling and Peter peeled off Rabbit’s faceplate, replacing it with practiced ease, then frowned at the blue photoreceptor that had cracked.  “This one needs to be completely replaced.” He sighed. “Spine certainly did a number on her.”

“It wasn’t his fault.” Bunny mumbled.  “Right?’

“No. It wasn’t.  Whatever was in that viral code altered his core programming.  We weren’t dealing with our Spine.” 

“Zero’s gone to sit with him.  I think he wants to make sure that Spine’s okay… you know, mentally or whatever.” Bryan added, taking Rabbit’s damaged photoreceptor for scrap while Bunny replaced it.

They worked in relative silence, only speaking out to ask for a different tool or to hold something. After half an hour Peter stepped back from the automaton on the table. “There. I think we're ready to try turning her on. Bunny, if you would.”

Bunny gently clicked the switch on the back of Rabbit’s head. “Give her a moment to warm up.” Peter said when Rabbit didn’t instantly open her eyes. There was a flicker in her optics, the slight smell of burning plastic before Rabbit slowly began to stir.

“Petes?” She called out quietly to the first form she saw.

“How are you feeling, Rabbit? Anything hurt?”

Rabbit frowned slightly. “Just my hands, my fingers, they don’t want to move right.”

“Don’t try stressing them Rabbit.” Bunny’s voice floated in the air, making the female robot smile.

“Bunny! You’re o-o-okay!”

“Yeah everyone’s okay.” Bunny replied with a soft, sad smile. Rabbit made a note of that, so everyone wasn’t okay.

“The Spine?” Rabbit asked after a moment of hesitation. 

“He’s fine.” Peter soothed.  “We purged the virus from his system. He’s back to normal.”

“I have to g-g-g-go see him.”  Rabbit said, sitting up. “L-l-let him know I’m okay.  Where is he?”

“Rabbit, slow down…” Bunny mumbled.  “You were hurt pretty bad and--”

“I’ll b-b-be okay, Bunny.” Rabbit smiled, pulling her technician into as best a hug she could manage.

“Rabbit… at least run a full system check first.” Peter sighed. He knew there would be nothing on Earth that would keep Rabbit from her brother.

Rabbit nodded, a puff of steam hissing from her cheeks.  “Just my hands are still broken. Ev-ev-ev-everything else is fine.”

Peter nodded.  “Alright. Go on, just be careful.  I’m going to go check on Carley.”

Rabbit offered another squeeze to Bunny before all but sprinting towards the Hall of Wires.

Bryan sighed, rolling his shoulders.  “C’mon, Bunny. Let’s go get something to eat.  There’s not much else we can do right now.”

* * *

The Spine leaned against the wall just outside the curtain to David’s room. He could hear his human breathing deeply and slowly. What had he done? Was Peter going to be angry with him? Punish him? Camille… she looked at him with such fear… even Bryan had seemed a bit standoffish… Chelsea, too. Though he had no memory of it, The Spine assumed that he had been the cause of Camille’s broken wrist and of Michael’s… stab wound.

The Spine glanced towards David’s room, thankful for the small miracle of his friend. David had not shown any fear or discomfort… even after he had… struck him.

Rabbit… at least her emergency beacon was no longer on. The Spine took that as a good sign.

His internal clock chimed the quarter hour. He would need to wake David soon. 

The Spine let oil drip freely down his face. Tears of black that matched his soul… assuming he had a soul. He was a bad robot, a terrible awful thing. Zero had been sitting with him, but The Spine had sent him away, to go make sure the humans were alright.

They mattered… not the abomination that he was. 

The Spine sobbed and gasped, forcing his body to stay as quiet as possible, yet begging his internal clock to speed up. He would never wake David early, but the normally peaceful silence of the manor was stifling, like a poison that creeped into his chassis, stopping his gears.

He never heard Rabbit coming down the hall. Not until she stopped in front of him with a worried. “The S-S-Spine? You okay?”

“Rabbit?” The Spine let the ghost of a smile cross his face as he vented steam.  “You’re… you’re okay…”

“Peter and Bunny fixed me up.  M-m-m-mostly. I still gotta let them fix my hands.”

The Spine glanced down to her hands and winced. Only another automaton could’ve caused that damage.  “I'm sorry, Rabbit… I…”

Rabbit surged forward, wrapping her arms around her brother, pinning his arms to his sides as she squeezed him.  “I’m glad you’re okay, The Spine. I w-w-w-was so worried about you.”

“I… I hurt you, Rabbit.  I could’ve killed you.”

“But you d-d-d-didn’t.  And you had a virus; you were sick.  Now y-y-y-you’re not.”

The Spine leaned his forehead against Rabbit’s cheek. “You forgive so easily. The others… they won’t… how can I hope to even try and make this up to them?”

Rabbit vented some steam from her cheeks, it caused little drops of water to appear on the Spine’s face. “It will be o-o-okay. They’ll u-u-understand.” 

“They won’t, Rabbit. Peter, he’s going to have to punish me for this… severely. Please Rabbit… promise me you’ll look after David?”

“The Spine, s-s-stop it! You know Peter w-w won’t…”

“Just... please, Rabbit, swear it to me.”

Rabbit swallowed the lumpy feeling in her throat. She had seen The Spine upset before but never like this. Never with such a quiet feeling of finality. “I p-p-promise, The Spine.”

“Thank you, Rabbit. Now if you will excuse me, I would like to clean my face before waking David for a late lunch.”

The Spine left without waiting for Rabbit to reply. He found an open bathroom easily enough and splashed water upon his face, bring back his shimmering silver luster. If it wasn’t for David’s request, The Spine would already be locked inside the vault. 

His family feared him…

He had no purpose now...

* * *

The infirmary was quiet when Peter approached.  The door was open, and the lights were dimmed. Chelsea and Camille were gone, but Steve was still fast asleep in his two chairs.  He had no reason to wake the sound engineer, but he knocked lightly on the door frame and peeked in.

Carley was slumped over her desk, resting her head in her hands with the heels of her palms pressed against her eyes.  Everything about her posture screamed ‘exhaustion’, down to even her running lights being dimmer.

Peter cleared his throat.  “Carley?”

Her head shot up and she turned, pulling her lab coat around her shoulders.  “Peter… how’s Rabbit? I felt her reconnect about 10 minutes ago, but I was still with Camille at that point.”

“She’s fine. She needs a bit more work, especially around her hands, but she wanted to see Spine as soon as she was awake.  I saw no reason to stop her.” Peter shrugged. “Michael?”

“Will be fine.  I’ve repaired the damage to his intestines and abdominal muscles to the best of my abilities, limited as they are.  He’ll need to be on light duty until I can get my medical systems repaired.” She rolled her organic shoulder and sighed.  “Which is going to take some time.”

“Let me help.” Peter said.  “I may to be able to get all of them up right this moment, but at least let me start.”

Carley shook her head.  “I need to wait for Michael to regain consciousness.  There’s still sedative in his system.”

“Then I’ll do it here.”

“You need to tend to Rabbit and Spine.”

“They’ll be fine for a while.  David and Bunny are both well equipped to handle anything they need for the moment.  But your panel is open and exposed, and your systems are down.”

“My critical systems are fine…”

“Carley…” Peter pulled a chair over to her and took her hand.  “You’ve done all you can right now. Let me help. Please.”

Carley turned her tired gaze to him and sighed.  “Nothing I say will convince you otherwise, will it?”

“Not really.”

“Alright, but when Michael wakes up, I need to check on him.”

“I’ll let you go the moment you need.”  He smiled, setting his toolkit on the table and turning her so he could better see her access panel.  “Can you take your lab coat off?” He asked, frowning when she shucked it off without a single word. He re-adjusted his grip on the tool he needed and set to work.

Carley sighed again, goosebumps raising on her skin at the chill in the air as Peter’s warm hands started repairing the fried circuitry.   As power slowly began to reach some of her systems, she slowly began to relax. 

Peter worked slowly, ensuring that he tested each wire before restoring full power to each junction.  He didn’t want to hurt her.

Carley rested her head in her organic hand as he worked, unable to stifle the soft moan that escaped her when he fixed a particularly sensitive junction.

“Did I hurt you?” He asked, pulling away.

Carley shook her head.  “No...no, you’re fine. I promise.

Peter’s hands were more hesitant when he put his hands back on her shoulders, but a comforting warmth spread across from them and she let her neck relax while he worked.

“A lot of your systems are definitely fried…” He sighed.  “It’s gonna take more than just a quick cut and splice job.  And I’ll have to make you a new panel cover. GG found your old one and it’s… pretty banged up.”

“I have the utmost confidence in you.”  Carley smiled weakly, pulling her lab coat back up over her shoulders.   “But everyone’s tired, including you. And you don’t have cybernetics that can keep you going.”

“Carley… you’re exhausted too.”

“I know I am.  But I can’t leave Michael yet; not until he at least regains consciousness.”  She rubbed her neck again. “No matter how sore I am.” She muttered.

“You’re in pain?”

Her head snapped up. “Did I say that out loud?”

Peter nodded, reaching for her hand.  

She groaned.  “It’s manageable, don’t worry.  A minor headache and some muscle soreness.  It’ll go away in a day or so.” She offered a weak smile.  

“Is this from… the electricity?”

“Most likely.  I may be augmented, but I am still only mortal.”  

Peter gently moved his hands to her shoulders. “Please allow me to help?” He asked her permission, he would never touch her without permission.

“You never have to ask to help me, Peter.” Carley smiled.  “I can’t think of anyone on two planets that I’d rather have rooting around in my wiring.  Or to simply hold me.” 

Slowly, Peter began to work his gentle hands and well worn fingers into Carley’s shoulder and down her back, kneading each muscle he found tight and caressing the ones that just needed a little attention. Her skin was so smooth, so soft, Peter felt like he would melt from touching her.

“Carley, I…” Peter reached for her face, wanting nothing more then to caress every inch of her body and hold her close when a groan from behind the curtain startled them both. 

Michael moaned and tried to move. He hurt… badly. White and silver greeted him when he opened his eyes. He was in the infirmary. “...hello?” he managed to weakly say before coughing, his throat dry.

Carley blinked a few times and pushed herself from her chair, wrenching herself away from Peter’s warmth and slipping behind the curtain. “Lay back, Michael.  You’ve been through a lot.”

“What… what happened?”

“You suffered an abdominal wound.  I’ve repaired what I can, but you need to take it easy.”  

Michael blinked, shaking his head as he tried to clear the fog from his mind.  “Feels like I got hit by a semi-truck.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Carley soothed, quickly taking his pulse and running a brief scan of his vitals.  “Like I said, you’ve been through a lot. Just try to relax.”

Michael nodded, letting his head rest against the pillow as Carley fussed with his IV.  Then his eyes snapped open and he tried to sit up. “Carley, The Spine… he’s gone--” He coughed and grimaced as he pressed his hand to his bandages. 

“Sh.”  Carley gently pushed his shoulders back down.  “It’s alright, we’ve taken care of it.”

“Gotta warn the others…”

“Michael, it’s alright.  The Spine is alright. Peter and Steve fixed him while you were unconscious.  Everything’s alright.”

“You… you sure?”

“Quite sure. Now lay back, take it easy or you’ll tear your stitches.”

Michael reluctantly relaxed, letting his eyes close again as Carley returned to fiddling with his IV.  “Hey, doc? Can I have some water?”

“Of course.  Just a moment.” She smiled, hiding her pain expertly as she opened a valve on the IV.  “There, that should help ease the pain. Give it a few minutes to take effect.” She smiled as she moved to the sink and poured him a glass, grabbing a straw on the way back.  “Sip slowly.” 

“Thanks, Doc.” Michael sighed as the cool liquid quenched his thirst.  “Is… it okay if I go back to sleep or…”

Carley ran another quick scan and nodded.  “If you’re tired, then of course. In the meantime, is there anything you’d like me to bring you?  A book, or…?”

“I could go for a book… after another nap.” Michael mumbled.  “You… you sure you don’t need help?”

“I’m sure.  Just rest and heal, alright?”

Michael nodded, letting his eyes close as Carley pulled the curtain back in place, her facade dropping almost instantly.

“How is he?” Peter asked in a whisper once Carley had closed the curtain.

“He’ll be alright.  A bit disoriented, but that’s to be expected.  He’s going to be stuck here, though, until my tissue regenerator is fixed.”  She rolled her shoulders again, cracking her neck and sighed. “And that might take a few days.”

Peter let out a slow breath. “Carley, how did we ever survive without you? Michael would be dead right now, David would have been dead a few months ago...” 

Carley shrugged.  “You made do.” She sighed, grimacing as she worked her organic arm.  Her muscles were sore from locking up when the electricity hit her, and the headache behind her eyes was starting to become annoying.  “I’m… going to get Michael a book to read once he wakes.”

“I can do that. Why don’t you take a hot shower or something….” Peter felt his ears turn red at his suggestion.  He was not used to being so forward in conversations that didn’t involve robots or blue matter.

“I can’t.  As much as I would like to, Michael needs to have someone with medical training on standby. And since I’m the only one who fits that bill, I have to stay with him.”

“Carley… we can rotate out keeping an eye on him, while I get you fixed up.”

“There are no others in this manor with the training to assist him if something happens.”

“Then we’ll call you.  You need rest and food and time to heal just as much as he does.”

“But--”

“Carley, you don’t have to do this alone.  We’re all here for you, and we’re all willing to help.”

She sighed, rubbing her neck.  “Peter…”

“You’re in pain, I’m not.  Let me  _ help _ , Carley.  After all, like you said, you’re ‘only mortal.’” He took her hand.  “Let me help.”

Carley hesitated for another moment before nodding.  “Alright…”

Peter smiled behind his mask, reaching up to brush his fingers across her cheek.  “Sit down, I’ll be back with some better tools and some food for you, and a book for Michael.  Then we’ll get your arm fixed.”

* * *

Slowly Rabbit made her way down the stairs into the dark to the basement. She had no need of a flashlight, she knew these wooden steps by heart. When Hatchworth had been vaulted, she would come down everyday and just spend some time sitting by the vault, talking to him. He couldn’t hear her of course, and internet had not existed so she couldn’t text or email him, but she had always come to spend time with him every day.

It was the job of the eldest to see to the younger bots. Pappy always told her so.

“The Spine? You down h-h-here?” Rabbit called into the darkness. No one had seen The Spine in hours; not since he escorted David to lunch. Rabbit had been in the kitchen, she had seen how the room got quiet at his arrival, how Camille had openly flinched and the others looked uneasy.

Rabbit shook her head. Though given what Bryan and Chelsea had been through at the time… she knew The Spine, with his advanced optics that viewed in ultraviolets, had seen the slight remaining stain of blood from Michael on the floor. She would need to clean that later. It was clean to the human eye but not to the automaton optics.

Rabbit sighed, she had already checked the duck pond, the gardens, the library, and the little places her creature of habit brother would go. This was the last spot.“The Spine?” She called again making her way towards an open Vault door. There was a small glow of green light.

Rabbit made her way to the door. The Spine was facing a corner of the vault, standing tall but so very still. Had she not been looking for him, had she not felt his closeness in her mind, this would have been terrifying. Like that Blair Witch movie she had watched with Steve recently.

“The Spine?”

He turned his head slightly to look at her. “Hello Rabbit.”

The neutral robotic tone in his voice was unnerving and unnatural for The Spine. Oil stained what little of his face she could see. 

Rabbit took a few steps into the vault. “Whatcha d-d-doing, The Spine?”

For a long moment The Spine said nothing, before he vented steam from his back and sighed. “Just getting used to my new room.”

“The Spine, this isn’t y-y-your room! Your r-r-room is upstairs by David.”

The Spine didn’t respond to his sister. He only continued to look at the wall. 

Rabbit pouted. “We still need ya, The Spine. Y-y-ya can’t stay down in the Vault.”

“This is where I belong. I’m a dummins Rabbit. Even The Jon knew not to download anything from an untrusted source. Just leave me be.”  The sound of the Spine’s voice made Rabbit feel as though her core would shatter. They were not programed with the ability to harm themselves but… she knew this tone… she had heard it before… right before Water worker Jamie had… had done what they did. 

“Please The Spine, we’re worried. I’m w-w-w-worried. David’s worried. Please come out.”

The Spine steamed again. “I will come out when it is time for David to go to bed. I always say goodnight to him. Then I will return to the Vault until morning.”

The Spine wasn’t listening to her. Rabbit sighed, she needed bigger guns. 

Rabbit stepped inside the room.  “If you’re gonna stay in here, then I’m s-s-s-s-s-staying in here too.”

“No.  You didn’t do anything wrong, Rabbit.  You deserve to be with the rest of the family… to be happy .”

“So do you, The Spine.” She stepped forward again, closer to her distraught brother.  “What happened…. It was an accident....”

{Zero, I need help.  The Spine’s acting all funny, please hurry.} 

{Coming, Rabbit.}

“I hurt people, Rabbit. I nearly  _ killed _ people.”

“But it w-w-w-w-wasn’t you.  We know that.”

“They’re afraid of me.”

Rabbit pursed her lips.  She couldn’t deny that. “They’re just tired right now, The Spine.  Th-th-th-they’ll come around.” She stepped forward again, reaching out to touch her brother with a now repaired hand.

{Rabbit?  Carley wants to come too.  She’s off the Wi-Fi, but she’s coming too. I don’t think I can stop her.} Zero messaged her.

{That’s fine.} Rabbit limited her connection, pinging The Spine’s local network since he wasn’t on the Wi-Fi either.  “The Spine…”

“Please, Rabbit… just go away.”

“No.”  She took his arm and all but spun him around, pulling him into a hug.  “I’m not l-l-l-leaving another brother down here all b-b-b-b-by themself.”

“Rabbit… I’m dangerous… like Hatchworth’s leak was dangerous, now I’m dangerous.”

“And Peter fixed you, just like he fixed Hatchy.”

The Spine released a burst of steam.   “Rabbit, why can’t you understand? I… I almost killed you, you should be the first to want me down here.”

“‘Cause it was an accident, Th-Th-The Spine.  It wasn’t y-y-y-you. You didn’t even s-s-s-s-sound like yourself.”

“Th’Spine?” Zero’s soft voice sounded as he poked his head in. “Whatcha doing down here?”

“Zero? What are you--? Rabbit, did you call him?”

“Yup.  I’m not leaving you down here.  Even if Z-z-z-z-zero and I have to drag you out.”

“But…”

“No ‘buts’, The Spine.  You’re our brother, and we’re not leaving you down here. Not now, not ev-ev-ev-ever.” Rabbit squeezed him just that much tighter as Zero joined them.

“I’m dangerous.”  The Spine whispered.  “I hurt both of you. I hurt Michael, and Camille, and… and David.  And everyone by scaring them… I think I hurt Carley, too.”

“The Spine, we ain’t mad.”  Zero offered. “It was scary when you were sick, but now you’re not sick, and you’re not scary anymore.”

“That doesn’t matter Zero… I should never have downloaded that file that Peter’s investigating.  I should’ve known not to. This is my fault, no matter which way you slice it.”

“Okay, so you made a mistake.  All of us m-m-m-m-make mistakes, The Spine.”

“The Spine,” Carley’s calm voice sounded next, her blue running lights appearing in the door frame.  “What’s going on?”

“The Spine’s trying to lock himself in the Vault.” Rabbit blurted out, not giving her brother a chance to downplay what he was doing.

The Spine looked away, unable to move in the embrace of his siblings.  “I’m dangerous. It’s only proper.”

Carley tilted her head to the side.  “You’d leave David all alone?”

“N-no.  I’ll still say goodnight and be there in the morning when he wakes… and help with shows, because you need me for shows, but beyond that… I’d be here.  Please, Carley you understand, don’t you?”

“I understand.”

Rabbit whipped her head around, steam billowing from her cheeks as she pinned the cyborg with a glare.  

Zero only clung tighter to his older brother.

The Spine offered a weak smile.  “See Rabbit? The humans agree.”

“Now hold on a moment.” Carley held up her hand.  “I said I understood your reasoning, Spine. I never said I approved of it.”

“But I hurt people… you know  _ exactly _ how badly I hurt people.”

“The Spine, would you blame David for lashing out during one of his nightmares?” She asked.  “Did you blame him when he had any adverse reaction to the Draconis in his system?”

“No! Of course not.”

“Would you blame Rabbit or Zero if they’d been the one to contract the virus?”

“They wouldn't have--”

“That’s not what I asked. Would you blame them for their actions while under the influence of any malicious coding?”

“N-no.”

“Would you blame any of the other organic beings if they lashed out at you while they had a fever?”

“...no.”  The Spine hissed out steam.

“Then why do you think we would blame you?”

“The others are afraid of me.”

“No, they’re not.  Tensions are high because it happened only a few hours ago.  Unease is going to be present, but highly doubt that any of us are truly afraid of you.” Carley stepped forward, and The Spine saw the uncovered access panel glowing in the darkness of the Vault.   “Come upstairs with us, there’s no reason for all these theatrics.”

“But--”

“Peter’s going to need to look at you in the Hall of Wires again, anyway.” Carley shrugged.  “You may as well go there now. If Peter decides that you need to be put down here, then he will tell you.  This is not your decision to make.”

The Spine sighed, hissing out steam from his back as Rabbit slowly let him go.  “Alright. But… I’ll make my case to him. You… you can’t stop me.”

“No.  We can’t.  But I can practically guarantee that he won’t confine you.” Carley smiled, offering him her hand.  “Let’s go upstairs. Small, dark places are not a favorite of mine.”

“I’m sorry, Carley.” Zero offered.  “I didn’t know you were afraid of the dark. I wouldn’t have said anything to you.”

“It’s alright.  No harm done.” Carley smiled at the younger robot before returning her gaze to The Spine.  “Are you ready?”

The Spine nodded, but refused to touch her.  He’d done enough damage for one day. He kept his head down as he followed his family back out of the basement and through the winding corridors, back to the Hall of Wires.  

He stepped inside, making to close the door, but Carley stopped it with her knee.  “Leave the door open for now, alright?”

The Spine nodded, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room for a brief moment before simply sitting on the ground.

Rabbit and Zero shared a look, and a short Wi-Fi conversation as Carley watched him with a sort of sadness in her eyes.

Zero darted off after a moment and Rabbit turned to Carley, pulling her into a soft hug.  “Th-thanks for your help, C-c-c-carley.”

“Of course, Rabbit.  Let me know if there’s anything else I can do.”  She spared a final glance to the gloomy automaton before walking away.  “And tell me if he tries to wander off to the Vault again.”

“Zero and I are g-g-g-g-gonna stay with him for a bit.”

Carley nodded.  “Call me if you need me.”

* * *

“Spine, you in there? Peter wanted me to reset your Wi-Fi link. It won’t take--” David stopped short, words caught in his throat as he looked inside the Hall of Wires. It took David a moment to realize what he was seeing before the human burst out into laughter.

There was The Spine, Rabbit, and Zero all in costumes around a mix and match plastic tea set of random cups and saucers. Zero was dressed like a cowboy, Rabbit like the Queen of Make Believe and The Spine… all David knew was he was in a floral print dress over his normal suit with a big sun bonnet on his head in place of his regular hat.

David laughed so hard he sank to his knees, clutching his belly, and wiping a tear from his eye.

The Spine vented steam from his lips. “It's not that funny.”

“Yes...Yes it is.” David practically howled back.

Rabbit and Zero exchanged mischievous looks.

“Well, hey there partner, don’t you know how to dress for a tea party?” Zero asked.

“Forsooth his g-g-garments are unworthy.” Rabbit added, tapping her wand to the table. “Cowboy Zero, let us f-f-fix that.”

David’s eyes went wide. “Oh no….” He started trying to back out of the room when Zero’s arms encircled his waist, picking David up and bringing him to a seat at the tea table. Rabbit was already rummaging around in the costume trunk. 

“Spine help?” David begged as Rabbit wrapped a multi colored scarf gently around his neck and chest before added oversized novelty sunglass.

The Spine’s optics were shimmering with mirth. “You’re the one who came improperly dressed to a tea party.” He smirked and lifted his tiny plastic tea cup at David. 

“And now that y-y-you are properly attired…” Rabbit said, pouring David a small cup of plain water from her sparkly princess tea pot. “I shall regail y-y-you with t-t-tales of the greatness of Queen Rabbit.”

David lost track of how long he was sitting there with the bots. Rabbit’s stories were funny, really funny and he found himself laughing right along. Even The Spine chuckled slightly here and there. A smile was continually pulling at the corners of his mouth. 

“Ahem.” A voice from the doorway make everyone turn. “Sorry to break up the tea party, but I need to talk to Spine..” Peter VI said. He was carrying some kind of file full of papers. “David,  did you finish that Wi-Fi reset like I asked?”

David quickly pulled off the sunglasses and struggled unwind the scarf from his body. “No sir… but I can do it now if you like?”  Though David had gotten better over the past few years, there was still a twinge of fear when it came to possibility of reprimand. 

Peter raised his shoulders, which was his way of smiling, to reassure his technician. “Don’t worry about it. I can handle it myself. Now if you three will excuse us; Spine, we need to talk.”

Rabbit stood, helping Zero clear away the toys and tea set, giving her brother a final hug before shuffling out of the Hall with Zero.

The Spine shucked off the dress that Rabbit had stuffed him into and put on his normal hat, kicking the two garments away, unable to bring himself to look at Peter.

David glanced between the automaton and his boss before quietly excusing himself, closing the door behind him.

Peter sighed softly.  “Let’s do that Wi-Fi reset before anything else.  It shouldn’t take long.”

The Spine nodded.  “I’m sorry. For everything.”

Peter nodded, typing on one of Qwerty’s control consoles.  “You don’t need to apologize, Spine. Disconnect from the network?”

“Done.  But, Peter, I caused so much harm…”

Peter typed some more on the console.  “Alright, try reconnecting. And your core program files were altered, it wasn’t the you that we all know.”

“But it was still my hand that injured Michael, David, and Camille.  Reconnected.”

“How’s your connection?  Back to normal?”

“Y-yes.” There was the smallest of hesitations on The Spine’s part before he spoke again to the heir of Walter Robotics.“Peter… I should be put in the Vault.  I’m dangerous… I don’t want to cause any more harm to anyone.”

“Absolutely not.”

“What?”

“Are you leaking Blue Matter?”

“No, but--”

“Then you’re not going in the Vault.  If I have to physically block it off, then I will.”

“But…”

“No, Spine.  I’m not cutting you off from the family because you got a virus.  No matter how much you want me to. Now, let’s talk about this game of yours.”

Peter placed the papers he had been carrying on Qwerty’s main console. “I must say, if I wasn’t so angry at the person who gave you this virus, I would be quite impressed. It was complex to say the least… though it’s possibly because you are complex, not so much the virus itself.”

The Spine nodded, listening quietly.

“That being said, there will be a new rule from this point on: No one, automaton or human, is allowed to download anything from an unknown or untrusted source. If there is something you want that’s questionable content, inform me and we can have it properly checked before download.” 

The Spine nodded again. He felt like he was getting off too light. “Is that all, Sir?”

“Not entirely. Whichever game you were playing is now banned in the manor, for everyone. I know you are expecting punishment. That is the punishment.” Peter hated using the word punishment, but unless he did ‘something’ The Spine would continue to torture himself for days, if not weeks or even months. He could not let that happen. 

“Yes sir.” 

“Good. Now run along, I have a few things to attend too.” Peter dismissed him and The Spine almost bumped into Steve as he opened the door.

“Ah, Steve! Right on time.” Peter greeted before giving The Spine a gentle look. “That’s all, Spine.”

Steve watched The Spine walk away before entering the Hall of Wires. “You sent for me, Boss?”

Peter’s voice took on a dark tone, and Steve suppressed a shiver as Peter spoke. “Steve… we’ve got a lesson to teach.” He pushed the papers towards Steve, the file open and full of a name, address, photographs, and all sorts of personal information were on view.

“This him? The one who hurt Spine.”

Peter nodded and the woke up Qwerty with a flick of a switch. “It's time for a lesson and class is in session.” Peter almost growled in his voice. No one hurts his family and gets away with it, no one. 

Carley lingered outside the door, her aural implant turned up.  At first it was to keep an eye on The Spine’s mental state, but now it was to keep an eye on her lover and her closest friend.  She sighed and stepped back inside the Hall, patting The Spine’s arm as she passed him. “Peter? Steve?” She stopped. “What are you planning on doing?”

Peter turned on a dime like a child caught with there hand in the cookie jar. “Carley! I thought you were seeing to Michael?”

“I took your advice.  Chelsea has offered to sit with him and will call me if I’m needed.”  She rolled her organic shoulder. “That and Zero said he needed help with The Spine, and I followed through.  What are you doing?”

“Nothing… nothing really.” Peter lied while Steve moved the papers behind his back.

“I’ll have you two know that my optical and aural implants are functioning just fine.” She sighed.  “Please tell me what’s going on. There’s enough tension in the manor as it is.”

Carley had to hold back a smile. Peter and Steve’s body language was very much like two naughty school kids being caught. “Well, uh… you see…” Peter started to say.

“We’re just gonna give the player who made Spine sick a little trouble.” Steve flashed a grin at Carley. 

“Nothing that would hurt him or seriously jeopardize his well-being of course.” Peter added quickly. 

Carley frowned, glancing over the papers as Steve moved out of the way.  “This is a child.” She spoke, deadpan. “Is he not?” She held up the picture of a fresh-faced teenager.   He couldn’t be more than 15 or 16. 

Steve kicked a wire gently with his foot. “Yeah but… the virus he gave Spine was super advanced so… he kinda deserves it.” 

Peter sighed after thinking it over for a few minutes. While revenge would be sweet… it wouldn’t necessarily be right. “Carley is right. Destroying his computer with a semi clone of the same virus really wouldn’t achieve anything.”

“Boss?” Steve did not like where this was going. In his mind any attack on his family should be swiftly retaliated. “Michael could have died, we all could have died. Because of some punk pimple faced teenager who hates to lose.”

“Steve, I highly doubt this child would have known just how badly the virus would’ve affected Spine.  He’s a rather unique being.” She set the picture back down. “Retaliating against him will only start a cycle of revenge that will fix nothing.”

Steve snorted. “He wouldn’t know it was us. Right Boss?” With one look and word Steve made it clear he would do whatever Peter wanted.

“Let it go, Steve. Carley’s right.” Peter’s words carried the weight of a command.

Steve put the papers back down, gave a nod and then blew past Carley and out into the manor, heading for the lower levels.

“He’ll work his anger off in the gym, don’t be concerned.” Peter said at Carley’s look. 

Carley sighed.  “Revenge fixes nothing.  It only breeds hatred. Yes, the child was in the wrong, but unless there is a legitimate way to see that he understands the consequences of his actions, then there is nothing we can do.”  

Peter pursed his lips under his mask. “Well, there is one thing we can try.” Peter went over to the papers, picked up one of them, then moved over to the wall phone kept in the Hall of Wires for emergencies. “Hello, Mr. Johnson? Yes, This is Peter Walter VI, head of Walter Robotics...Yes, I need to talk to you about your son, Jacob...”


	7. Chapter 7

_ Two weeks later. _

“I swear Steve, you’re more of a mother hen then The Spine was.” Michael mused as they walked down the hallway together towards living room three. “I can carry one of those you know.”

Steve started to shake his head but stopped when the boxes of snacks he was carrying began to shift in his arms. “Nothing doing. Unless Carley cleared you from light duty this morning and didn’t tell me, you aren’t carrying jack diddly squat.”

Michael Reed opened his mouth to argue but then closed it with a shake of his head. “You’re stubborn, anyone ever tell you that?”

Steve grinned at him. “All the time.”

They walk on in silent for awhile before Michael spoke again. “ Did I thank you yet for saving my life?”

Steve snorted, “Only about a hundred times, and Carley did most of the work. I just helped out.”

“Stubborn and modest too. What a man.” Michael teased with a fake swoon.

“Listen Reed, I will put these boxes down and tickle you if you don’t knock it off.” Steve threatened.

Michael put his hands up in mock surrender before sticking his tongue out at the engineer and hurrying away as quickly as his wrapped belly bandages would allow into living room 3 before Steve could make good on his threat.

Michael paused a few steps inside the doorway as giggling and squeals of delight reached his ears. The girls were already having a pillow fight. Chelsea, Bunny, Rabbit and Camille all gently bopping each other with pillows, a few downy feathers flying from them. Camille’s wrist was completely healed thanks to Carley’s bone knitter. 

David and the Spine were sitting at the far end of the room well out of pillow range. Each with a guitar in hand, practicing softly. David had missed a few lessons due to his concussion and dizzy spells but not many. Michael marveled how there wasn’t even a scratch or scar on David where his injury had been. 

What had they ever done before Carley?

Michael had just a moment to ponder why the duo had stopped playing and were smirking at him when firm, wiggling fingers found the spaces between his ribs. Michael squealed with laughter, squirming in an effort to get away.

“This is what you get for teasing me.” Steve said.

“Please be careful.” Carley smiled as she walked into the room, carrying several bags of Chinese takeout.  “Have we decided on a movie, or did things devolve into chaos the moment I left?”

“They devolved into chaos.” Bunny and David spoke in tandem. “It’s Steve’s fault.”  Bunny teased. “He started it.”

“Hey!  Way to throw me under the bus!” Steve rolled his eyes. Having released Michael from his tickling grip, he moved to help Carley unload the containers of food, then immediately grabbing his order and plopping down on the couch.  

Carley rolled her eyes as she passed out the orders. “Well, who’s turn is it to pick, anyway?  Didn’t we institute a rotation for this?”

Michael shrugged, taking the box of food that Carley handed to him.  “I think it’s Rabbit’s turn. Which means we’ll probably be watching  _ Willy Wonka _ again.”

“Good thing we raided the snack pantry.”  Steve grinned as Bryan appeared in the doorway with Zero in tow.

Rabbit pouted at Steve. “And what’s w-w-wrong with the classics?”

Steve dug into his lo mein noodles with a hungry passion. “Nothing other then the fact we’ve watched it every week for the past month, whenever it's your turn to pick.”

“It wasn’t every w-w-w-week.” Rabbit mumbled as she took her place next to Bunny.  “We watched Wizard of Oz last week. So I’m gonna pass this week, s-s-since you don’t like Willy Wonka. Which means its…..The Spine’s turn!”

“Oh, uh… I pass as well.”

“C’mon, Spine. You can pick a movie.  You haven’t in like… months.” David chided.

“You all don’t like my movies.  I watch Westerns.”

“I could go for a Western.” Bryan shrugged, grabbing his order from Carley as he settled in an armchair.

“Yeah, it’s a nice change of pace.” Michael smiled.  “Especially since I can’t do anything fun.”

“I told you, Michael.  I need to wait until you’ve healed enough for me to remove the stitches.” Carley sighed, settling back on the couch.  “Regenerating your tissues around it would only lead to more problems.”

“I know, I know.  I’m teasing.”

Steve held out the DVDs for The Spine to pick from as Peter walked in.  “I thought I heard about a movie night.”

“Yup!  We’re watching one of Th’Spine’s movies!” Zero beamed, drinking down some water as he moved to sit next to his older brother.

“Excellent.  Mind if I join you?”

Chelsea and Camille grinned as they moved to make a pillow nest on the floor, leaving a healthy space on the couch for Peter to sit. 

Right next to Carley.  The walter workers were not particularly subtle in this motion but no one pretended to be any wiser.

Peter swallowed and sat down, ‘smiling’ with his shoulders as Carley handed him his food, then sat back. 

“Hey, David,” Steve called,  “Hit the lights!” 

David flicked the lights off, the room becoming bathed in the waiting glow of the TV.

The Spine glanced around as he put in his chose DVD, Calamity Jane, and started it playing.

Rabbit patted the space between her and David and The Spine awkwardly folded himself into the space, arching an eyebrow when Zero moved to sit just behind him.

Carley smiled at the robots as the room hushed and the movie’s overture played.   A warmth permeated the room, and not just from the robots’ boilers. The tension was gone, had been ever since the manor had received a rather hilariously poorly written apology letter from the teenager that had caused the whole fiasco.  But now it really felt like things were back to normal, the emotional wounds healed alongside the physical.

As the movie played on and the food was finished people began dozing off, with Michael being the first to let sleep claim him.

Peter cleared his throat softly, inching closer to Carley and smiling under his mask when she wrapped her organic arm around his shoulders, letting him rest his head in the crook of her neck as the robots chattered idly over the Wi-Fi.

David was the next to dose off, half leaning, half using The Spine as a pillow.  Things were getting quiet, so Steve slipped in the shadows to go check the house before he retired for the night, and that included the three ‘secret’ tunnels GG had shown him. 

It had been decided that the robots would not be told of these passageways and those who knew of them were sworn to secrecy. They were to be only used in an emergency. Though in Steve’s opinion leaving them unchecked at night could lead to an emergency, at least that was how he justified slipping away into the walls of the manor. 

Zero carried a passed out Bryan back to his room. Chelsea had followed suit with a very sleepy Camille in tow. 

Bunny hummed along quietly with Rabbit till almost the end of the musical film when she too began to sleep. Soon only the Rabbit, The Spine and Peter and Carley were still awake. The latter pair whispering quietly to themselves. 

Carley’s soft chuckle made Rabbit look back briefly, only to find her pressing a soft kiss to Peter’s temple while he blushed like a lovestruck teenager.  She couldn’t kiss his lips, not with the humans nearby, but his temple was fair game.

[ Don’t stare Rabbit.] The Spine’s message reached her mind. [Just watch the movie.]

[But The Spine! They’re s-s-so cute.]

[And if you make Peter self conscious he won’t have any ‘fun’ and you know what I mean.] Spine teased lightly as he gently pulled David a little deeper into his lap. His human was out cold but best he stay as comfy and warm as possible so as not to wake. The Spine wasn’t sure how David or Bunny would feel being just feet from a couple whispering sweet nothings to each other.

Rabbit pouted over the Wifi towards he brother. [Fine but the m-m-movie is over in a few minutes. Should we p-p-pretend stasis?]

The Spine’s optic drifted to the window across the room, in the reflected light he could see Carley twirling her finger around the out edge of Peter’s ear, which was turning redder and redder. [Fake stasis it is.]

The movie did indeed end, the credits rolling and the screen turning black. Just before the last of the credits finished Rabbit and The Spine dimmed their optics and went still leaning against the chair and edge of the sofa respectively. 

Carley smiled, pressing a final kiss to Peter’s temple before glancing around at the array of empty takeout boxes and sleeping humans.  “Shall we leave the mess for the morning?” She whispered.

Peter nodded.  “Think they’ll be okay?”

“I’m sure once we’re gone, the robots will take their techs to bed.  But leave Michael where he is.” She couldn’t hide her grin at the minor embarrassment that floated over the Wi-Fi from Rabbit and The Spine at her subtle dig at them.  

Peter shrugged, lacing his fingers together with hers for a moment before they both stood and picked their way around the trash and made their way out of the room, leaving only the robots awake.

As soon as the coast was clear and they could no longer hear the footsteps of Carley and Peter Rabbit turned her optics back up and burst into a grin that would make the Cheshire cat jealous. [Think they’re g-g-gonna do it?]

The Spine turned his optics back up to their normal shimmering green brightness and reached out, tugging Rabbit’s hat over her eyes. [Don’t be crude, Rabbit. Come on, let’s get our human friends to bed.]

Rabbit stuck her rubber tongue out at The Spine but said no more as she gracefully picked Bunny up into her arms. The Spine did the same with David. They were only a few steps out into the hallway when Rabbit messaged him again. [I bet they w-w-would have really c-c-cute kids.]

The Spine gave her that sibling brother scolding look. [They would, but that’s none of our business. And get off the Wi-Fi, Rabbit. Just in case.]

He felt her dutifully click off and just as he was about to turn Wi-Fi off for himself he felt a relaxed, deeply happy feeling float over. The Spine clicked it off, but couldn’t stop the smirk on his lips.  

“What did ya h-h-hear?” Rabbit whispered.

“Nothing Rabbit… nothing at all.” 

“Tell me, The Spine.”

“Nope.”

“Come on.”

“Nope.”

“P-p-please?”

“No.”

Rabbit continued to quietly pester The Spine all the way down the hall. 

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that this story is a collaborative effort between ClockworkCreation and SimpleEnthusiast, and as such it may take us a few days in between chapters to upload. We thank you for your patience.


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